Here we re-met the crazies Alex and Sarah. We found an open mouthed Alex watching TV, and on seeing us her yelling and screaming all the way to the front entrance made us feel extremely special. Warmth and love. Poorly Sarah was riddled with a cold and was asleep on our arrival. We were potentially meant to go watch a Maori cultural experience in a village all together. Instead we spent the whole night yapping together, over a gorgeous tapas of bruschetta and pizza. Was certainly lovely to catch up with the crazy pansies.

We visited the Wai-o-tapu volcanic thermal wonderland in the morning. A beautifully laid out, easy to follow place, geo thermal activity uniqueness, colourful and very smelly! In the same afternoon we visited the Tamaki village for the Maori experience. This was nothing short of an AWESOME trip. We came back to the hostel on an almighty HIGH. Ironically perhaps not due to the actual cultural journey (don't get us wrong this was insightful and fun) but more so the bus journey there and back. The village experience, where audience participation, as K found out, was needed was fun. A Powhiri, a formal welcoming ceremony where the chief accepts peace offerings was warrior full. The hangi, food eaten after being cooked in a pit was scrummy too. However, the highlight was the comical bus driver who got us all to sing a song from our respective nations, to the 'wheels on the bus go round and round', and actually going around the round about several times. As the kiwis would say, this evening was 'mean' (kiwi compliment).

Lord of the Rings fans will find themselves in their element at the Hobbiton movie set. We booked the first slot of the day to visit, so our photos of Hobbiton wouldn't get bombed by 'Minions' or 'ants'. Sound advice from the crazies. Danny our humble driver to Hobbiton was an amazing chatty man, full of stories and very learned about languages, cultures and people in general. Like our guide Matt (a local farmer), Danny also worked on the actual Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies and Hobbiton set. When asked how the local farmers felt.... His reply 'well it's brought in 2 billion dollars revenue into the town, so... at first people were a bit weary, but now ok'. In the summer they have 2200 people pass through the set every day, meaning two buses arrive and leave every ten minutes. The blip of 'not chasing the sun in NZ' made us fortunate in this respect.

So for those avid fans, a bit about the set itself..... .it was chosen from an ariel view by Peter Jackson (PJ) for its rolling hills, and a 360 of no electrical wires to be seen. PJ allegedly still visits it for these very reasons. The Alexander family who actually own 1250 hectares of land Hobbiton is built on made a contract that the set be made for real for the Hobbit movies and not from temporary material as previously had been done. Wise! PJ owning 51% and the Alexander family 49%. There were 44 houses built, which technically can be lived in, as planning permission had to be sought for each house from the local counsel. Only two of them actually have anything in them!

The local army came in and built the roads to the set, to make it accessible, Peter Jackson hired a local farm house to live in whilst filming, and paid a healthy amount for it, including the couple to holiday for 4 months in a camper van, whilst they vacated their home. People now pay up to 400 dollars a night to stay there. Crazy. Talking of costs, two fake things reside in Hobbiton, one being the fake mould on the fences, second a tree that stands behind Bilbo Baggins home. It cost a small 1.2 million to make! 200,000 fake leaves glued on. And it is maintained, as are all the real gardens, veggies and flowers by gardeners. Half way through building the actual set, PJ was already 1.8 million over budget! When filming, grass was cut at different lengths and fences were replaced depending on who and what was being filmed, to give perspective. Gandolph filmed in front, to make him appear bigger than hobbits. The attention to every detail in every paragraph from JR Tolking's books meticulously kept. Even from the hobbit plum tree. Now plum trees don't grow little, so an apple tree was grown on the spot, de-appled and replica plums put on! The kiwi sheep didn't look English enough, so they were imported from England! This much detail for seconds of footage. Remarkable.

However, an ethical debate arose in our minds.... So much money pumped into DETAIL, and yet so many starving people in the world. However, in the same breath, the detail and passion is applaudable. So many people have tried to make the film, and failed. PJ's attention to detail and vision made it a success. If alive today, we wondered how Tolkin would feel about the interpretation of his books. Proud we thinks! And happy with some royalties!

Will definitely have to watch the films, with a different perspective. Not that S can remember much from the first time of watching them! Rumour has it that PJ has 15.5 unused hours of footage. Watch this space!

The Hobbiton visit took half a day, and ended with a drink at the actual Green dragon, overlooking the lake. Perfect.

Deciding to visit the Redwood Whakarewarewa Forest that very afternoon, we did a walking track which took a couple of hours. We felt like ants amongst such tall trees, originally from California, and even saw the local thermal lands on route.

K made lovely sweet scones, and we even managed to book the bus and accommodation for Paihia, just! What a few jam packed fun filled days. Happy.