Within the last week we have sipped a Singapore Sling in the Raffles Hotel, melted in a Sydney heatwave, and taken our first glimpse of the Chilean Andes but none of these were as exciting as visiting 'Hobbiton' in New Zealand. I didn't actually realise there was a real life 'Shire' that you could visit, but as Lord of the Rings fans it was a place we are glad we happened to be passing by- it was truly fantastic! Unfortunately that's about all I can actually say ...

It was 10pm on a Sydney Saturday night as I wandered toothbrush in hand to the shared bathroom. The lounge area was still full of fresh faced young backpackers, glugging merrily at the free wine. As I cleaned my teeth in a bathroom I shared with the oldest man we had seen at the hostel and an old Japanese fellow, I couldn't help thinking....Was I too old for this Australian backpacking lark or did we simply have a different approach to it all now? Australia is t...