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Day 136- After checking out we drove to Mt Manganui, the main reason for our visit here. We parked up and found a map so we could plan our route up the extinct volcano. It was chilly as it was still early but perfect clear skies above us. We set off toward the peak and passed loads of runners on the way, we found a seat half way up and admired the views overlooking the Pacific and nearby islands. It was quite busy at the top but it was understandable why, the views over the town of Mt Manganui were terrific and the sun was starting to do its thing. We picked out a route down the other side and strolled down. It was barely 11 once we reached the bottom and felt we satisfied with our mornings work. We jumped in the car and after some hasty decision making we drove westward to Matamata. This wasn't a stop we planned to make whilst in New Zealand, we learnt it was the home of Hobbiton- where the Hobbit's live! It was a 45 minute drive in the wrong direction but we came to the decision that we simply couldn't miss it out. We turned up at the secretive location and bought our tickets from the tin shack they called a ticket office. We were getting really excited now and we ate some sandwiches we knocked up earlier as we waited. A bus pulled up and signalled for our group to hop on board and the old man driving gave us a right laugh as he drove to the set. It was about a 30 minute drive from the main road and there was no way anyone could sneak a look at it without paying the admission fee. It was absolutely fabulous; little doorways, windows, letter boxes and vegetable patches. Everything was so real. Well it was real actually, for the first Lord of the Ring films everything was made from plywood and only built to last several years which was then pulled down after filming anyway. However when the film crew returned to film the Hobbit, the landowners agreed to filming on the condition that a permanent set was created with the view of them owning it and using it as a tourist attraction. So it was agreed and now the farmers who own the land are set for life! We had a great time, the tour lasted around 2 hours and the guide told us lots of info on the set and film locations Naturally there were plenty of anoraks taking things a bit to seriously! After our tour in the hot sun it was great to finish off in the Green Dragon pub to claim our free drink which actually turned out to be a delicious home brewed beer and cider for Eve! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and so glad we ended up going. We then drove onward to Rotorua and stopped off at the supermarket to buy tea which turned out to be king prawn stir fry- yum yum!
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mam lovely day to remember and tell your kids xxx