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Day 2 Shire Reckoning: Monday, Foreyule 6. -- Auckland to Rotorua via Hobbiton (Matamata). Today for me was the big day, the first "real" day of the tour. We set out from the Spencer on Byron hotel in Auckland and headed slightly south east towards Matamata.
I think there are only 5 XY's on the bus right now, it seems everyone else is testosteronally-challenged. I also hear a lot of talk about "Elijah and the Hobbits". Beginning to think that I'm among a lot of pervy hobbit fanciers. And speaking of
hobbits, we were joined by Maria in full hobbit garb
first thing in the morning! I knew from multiple documentaries and web coverage that this was where Peter Jackson and his team had chosen to be the Shire. I also knew that since the filming had stopped, all the additional set dressings that made Hobbiton what it was on celluloid had been removed. I expected to see just the remnants of the shoot, the husk of Bag End, as it were. As soon as we cleared Auckland and entered the more traditional farming country, I was taken aback. This was my first real look at proper New Zealand landscapes. Breathtaking wide plains break quite suddenly into rolling hills that appear terraced from a distance. (Found out later that the terracing effect is achieved by the repeated passing of sheep over the soft top soil. As more sheep walk the same paths they create little terraces all around the hills.) As soon as we reached the Matamata area it wasn't a matter of finding the Shire. The Shire was all around us! I couldn't believe it. It seemed as if the very land had been plucked right from my imagination and placed right there for everyone to see. I'm not kidding when I say that on more than one occasion the bus took a blind turn around a steep hill and I half expected the Green Dragon Inn Bywater to be right around the corner. The whole thing reminded me of an Alan Lee painting, where the Nazgul arrive in the Shire.
A large terraced hill stood in the distance, I imagined it might actually the Great Smials of Buckland. Finally, after what seemed to be an interminable wait we made it to the Alexander's sheep farm where the Shire set had been erected. One of their tour guides boarded our bus and started telling us details about the shoot. She told us about the makeshift village the filmmakers had established to maintain their shoot and where they had set up the "Animal Kingdom" to bring in all the animals they had for filming. As interesting as all that was, it seemed like we would never get there. There was fence after fence that she had to open for the bus. Then the bus parked next to some other coaches in a non-descript dirt lot. We disembarked and I was worried. What if it wasn't up to what I had built it up to in my head? We walked up a short path and through the branches of a large and beautiful tree, I saw it. Bag End! Certainly not in its full glory....but totally recognizable and just absolutely gorgeous. As I cleared the tree there was Bagshot Row, the party tree...the Brandywine..River...well, Brandywine Lake anyway. Much fun to be had. Someone with absolutely no imagination would have had a very easy time of seeing the hobbit holes in their complete majesty with hobbit children frolicking about and Hobbits sitting and smoking and having 'Elevenses" as all proper and respectable hobbits should. I simply can't put things into words. Took a fantastic picture of myself sitting on the steps of Bag End having a pipe. Old Bilbo's heart would break if he saw Bag End now....but to an old Muggle like myself (to mix fantasy stories) it was much more than I could have hoped and something I'd been waiting to do since the 5th grade. As we left, one of the Alexanders gave us a demonstration of expert sheep shearing. He was very fast and made it look simple, but still, looks like hard work. If this had been all...it would have been completely worth it.
But that wasn't all. We then headed to the Rotorua Geothermal reserve. Very primordial! Totally amazing and hints of Mordor? Bubbling mud pools, spitting gysers, choking on sulphur fumes.....and we got lost on the way back to the coach. While navigating a rather dubious looking path that was supposed to bring us back to the car park, Debbie threw out, "I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way." Just perfect! Made it back to the coach intact.
For those with Broadband check out these Quicktime movies (about 4 megs each). Then headed to a Maori recreation village called Tamiki which was simply amazing. A Moari warrior came out and did a stunning challenge as a greeting (I will have video of this up here as soon as I get through stuff from the trip). He postures and finally puts down a token of peace. The whole time these other warriors are up top just making all kinds of noise. If the peace token is accepted, then the women call the warriors back and you are invited into the village. Very cool. And I can think of no better example of a Threshold Guardian (see the section about the Hero's Journey) than this. A Maori war Haka is one of the most stunning things I've seen yet. I think it is awesome, a perfect expression of a male warrior. Brilliant! We had a traditional Maori feast where they use heated volcanic rocks to cook food in the ground, making an Earth oven (hangi). The chicken was so tender meat was falling off the bones. May very well be some of the best fish I've ever had. Awesome Lamb and mint sauce. Everything was very very good. They had sweet potatoes and gravy and even cranberry sauce! Happy Thanksgiving! I think Hobbits would have loved the Maori...except for the War Haka I think, it makes folks late for supper. Anyway, time for bed now, Mt. Doom Tomorrow! |
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Day 3