into the kaleidoscope of blue water
stuck in my mind throughout.
My move inland was towards Mat-
amata, which most people have nev-
er heard of because it’s far from your
typical tourist destination.
This small village lying in the mid-
dle of farmland housing a single back-
packers and a handful of hotels does
have one titanic draw: Hobbiton.
The drive across to Matamata van-
ished as I flew down the highways
with Lord of the Rings on my mind,
quotes flowing through my head,
scenes playing across the corners of
my eyes and the soundtrack pouring
through my headphones enrapturing
me in the enchantments of Middle
Earth.
The trip from town, out to the tour
grounds, quickly showed why Peter
Jackson fell in love with the area while
scouting the countryside. Riding the
lightly curved roads through lush
green rolling hills lacking almost any
suggestion of human occupation (save
for a few fences and some cattle), it
was near impossible not to envision
scores of Hobbits and Gandalf calling
the area home.
After a short bus ride from the
entry to the actual set, hidden deep
in the property, it didn’t take much
prompting from the guide for me to
run down the passageway from The
Hobbit and exclaim “I’m going on
an adventure!” Exploring the rest of
the movie sets continued by strolling
through hobbit holes, including Bag’s
End, hearing about the many thou-
sands of hours invested in hand craft-
ing ‘The Party Tree’, and ending with
a pint at New Zealand’s busiest bar (by
volume and by patrons!), The Green
Dragon. Songs were sung, costumes
were worn and sunset over the beauti-
ful grounds, including Old Mill water-
wheel and pond, was enjoyed before
being shown the exit. I couldn’t have
asked for a better experience.
The rest of the trip down the north
island was more focused on the des-
tinations than the journey as there
were lots of highway miles to chew up.
The stops were well worth it even if
the first was more known for its smell
TRAVERSE 24
than its attractions: Rotorua.
Home to mountain biking, Maori
dinners and a plethora of geother-
mal activity, it is a must-see stop on
your way around the country. While
the commercialised viewings of the
30m tall Potohua geyser and expen-
sive multicolored walk through the
Waimangu volcanic valley have their
appeal, the highlights of my stay were
exploring the walking trails around
the skyline gondola, catching up with
my mom’s cousin Joy, then leading
two new friends (Simon from Switzer-
land and Anne from Germany) out to
the natural hot springs at Kerosene
Creek. While the Kerosene Creek hot
springs have their detractions, name-
ly the trademark pungent aroma, the
brown-isation of your swimming ap-
parel, and the need to watch your step
due to inconsiderate visitors breaking
glass bottles here and there, the re-
ward is entirely worth it. The stream
of warm water over a hot sandy bed
runs through a dense forest with a
decent track running beside it deep
into the forest making it easy to find