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Published: September 15th 2007
An ode to the sheep
A sheep being sheered at Agrodome.“What is sheep’s favorite newspaper? The WOOL Street Journal!”
I chuckled as I finished one of my favorite’s sheep jokes. Prior to the New Zealand trip, I’ve read many sheep jokes in my attempt to blend in with the Kiwis. Some people around me just rolled their sarcasm eyes, and some just smiled politely so they wouldn’t offend me.
How can you ignore sheep while visiting this pristine country? It is the fact that the sheep population outnumbers humans by ten to one. And obviously it is true, too, that New Zealand has more to offer than just its biggest city of Auckland (of which most people would mistakenly call it as the nation’s capital), anything Kiwis, and Peter Jackson’s famous trilogy Lord of the Rings.
We headed down south from our starting point in Auckland to a smaller town of Rotorua, some four hour bus ride in the middle of the night. By the time we stepped out from our bus around nine in the evening, there were two noticeable things in this town: smell of rotten egg and how much colder it was compared to Auckland. Evidently,
Hobbits party tree
Seeing the party tree through a hobbit's perspective. Lord of the Rings movie set at Alexander Farm in Matamata. heading down south in the southern hemisphere also means the reversal of the northern hemisphere - the more south one goes, the colder it gets.
Conveniently, our NoMad Backpackers Hostel is located next to Rotorua Tourist Information center, a focal point to get around this touristy town. We had no problem of finding the green van of Hobbiton ‘Movie Set and Farm Tours’ parked outside the center to join the tour which highlights the Lord of the Rings’ hobbits residential town.
Thanks to LOTR’s (Lord of the Rings) director Peter Jackson, New Zealand is a new hot destination for travelers who are seeking for pristine natural beauty and Hollywood moment altogether. Tourism in New Zealand has tremendously increased to more than 10 millions per year in 2006, and it is expected to keep rising in the next couple years, way exceeding its current residents by almost three times.
With an agreement with the New Zealand government, all LOTR movie set were removed immediately as soon as they were done filming. So they have removed all movie structures and models and supporting village from National Parks and Reserves throughout New Zealand. However, there is always an exception; since
Rotorua Museum
Originally built as a natural therapeutic spa in 1908. Hobbiton was built in a privately owned of Alexander Farm, the owner decided, a little too late, to keep the movie set in his farm after the movie crew started to tear down the fictional village. A tour program to visit whatever left from LOTR filming set was established several years ago, and it has been a tourism highlight for all international visitors in New Zealand.
Again, we were visually reminded on how sheep brought up the New Zealand’s economy by an hour driving through the sheep country. The town of Matamata, where the Alexander farm is located, is a sheep farming community where from a distance rolling green hills and cliff are dotted with white cluster of sheep. Several stops of opening and closing sheep gates through the Alexander farm later, we finally arrived in the heart of Hobbiton.
Apart from seeing the breathtaking nature setting with familiar scenes of distinctive shape of trees and hobbit holes’ white façades, we learned several facts of filming LOTR first hand. Unfortunately, movie making is not always sweet as all of us imagine. For instance, the massive oak tree behind Frodo’s house was tragically removed from its nearby original location,
Zorb this way
The best way to satisfy Kiwi's adrenaline addiction. being chopped off into pieces for transporting to the movie set, and a subsequent effort to reattach it back together with nails and rebar, and the final touch of gluing new Taiwanese plastic leafs with series of strings. But on a brighter note, the rest of the movie setting was exactly what I have imagined before - the original Party Tree, Frodo’s reading tree, and the tiny size of the remaining seventeen Hobbit holes at the set.
Don’t forget, the whole movie set is still a legitimate sheep farm. So we had to be very careful of not stepping on sheep do-do that surprisingly could be located in convenience locations. Fortunately the sheep are usually quite honest, our tour guide assured us, so we had no problem of leaving our bags behind untouched. There were many lamb sticking up with their mothers, as spring time was in the air, and good for us that no rams were located.
Kiwis (the people, not the bird or the fruit) are obsessed with outdoor activities,
so we were dropped off at the Agrodome to taste some of the actions. After the less anticipated swooping (Ryan's first adrenaline pumping) and
Champagne Pool
... at Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park. agro jet riding, we were looking forward to zorbing, which is definitely a New Zealand experience. It is basically a giant washing machine, made out of huge plastic balls, and after crawling inside the ball, one can experience how it feels like to be a hamster in a ball by having it rolled down the hill. There is no other defining experience other than zorbing in Kiwi-land.
Our experience today seemed to be dedicated for Kiwi cultural events; after the movie trend and ultimate adrenaline culture, the jewel of all is the Maori culture, the native New Zealanders. Its culture is closely related to the Polynesian's, in fact, it is very similar with Hawaiian culture, including hangi (ground cooked meal - very tender and delicious!), waka (ancient warrior canoe), and haka (an intimidation face by sticking out tongues). All around Rotorua, there are many interesting wood carvings and ornamentation that do not belong elsewhere in the world.
Thursday, September 13th, 2007 - Rotorua, New Zealand Rotorua is nicknamed 'Sulfur City' due to an obvious reason. Similar to the Yellowstone NP in the U.S., it is the home of about one-third geothermal activities in the world. One
Sheep in New Zealand
There is no New Zealand without sheep, which outnumbers human population by ten to one. would not miss the unique smell of sulfur from almost any locations in the city, which smells close to a rotten egg. Not to mention that several city parks are dedicated to fence people off from accessing some of the dangerous areas of bubbling water and mud on the ground. In some neighborhoods, people's houses are tapped into the natural geothermal system where natural heat serves as water heater, personal spas, home central heater and cooks food at kitchens.
Interestingly enough, locals no longer be able to smell the sulfur, as they are getting used to it.
A personal visit to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Water) geothermal park is equivalent to challenging the nature by observing it closely. The sulfuric smell is inevitable around the park; in fact, steams are visibly rising from different holes on the ground. The Lady Knox geyser always erupts at 10:15 sharp; thanks to the sack of detergent the park ranger throws inside the crater for tourism reason. Apart from the geyser, there are many thermal pools that offer colorful palette that is simply stunning, especially for the worldly famous Champagne Pool.
Polynesian Spa, which is voted to be the best 10 spas in
Frodo's tree
The famous tree where Frodo read a book prior to his 'Lord of the Rings' adventure. the world, is worth a visit. It was an interesting experience to try different terracing pools, all seven of mineral spring pools, while having the picturesque Lake Rotorua (second largest in New Zealand) as a backdrop, and surrounded by Japanese older women. Nonetheless, it was one of the most memorable Kiwi experience in Rotorua to have the long renowned therapic function in the historic spa.
Friday, September 14th, 2007 - Rotorua, New Zealand Hei oranga mo nga iwi katoa o te Ao
(For the benefit of the people of the world) - Arawa (Maori tribe who lives in Rotorua region) chief when they presented a 50 acres land for the Goverment Gardens, Rotorua, 1880.
A visit to famous landmark Rotorua Museum concluded our days in Rotorua. Its Elizabethan Tudor architecture style seemed to be misplaced in the southern hemisphere, but it connects to its root of European colonization some centuries ago.
I think I found another favorite structure in the world!
The museum consists of three sections: historical baths and spas that Rotorua has been renowned for centuries (including the museum itself), Maori cultures, and art galleries. It is a must to visit when you're in Rotorua.
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Steve D.
non-member comment
Wow!
Halef, Looks like you and Ryan are having a great time "down under" I hope youe race went well! Your your photos are awesome...but where is Cy? See you back home safe! -SD