Thursday 11th February 2010

Nice lay in this morning as we didn't have to check out until 10am as our bus wasn't leaving until 10.30am, destination Auckland. The bus was a bit late and didn't arrive until 11am but it wasn't full so we got a seat each. We drove for about two hours before stopping at a place for lunch call Matamata here is a bit of information for you about this place, as people were quite excited as some of Lord of the Rings was filmed here, as Suzie and I haven't seen it didn't really thrill us:

Matamata is a rural Waikato town in New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata Piako district Matamata-Piako District Council, taking in the surrounding rural areas as well as Morrinsville and Te Aroha.

A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton set in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The New Zealand government decided to leave the Hobbit holes built on location as tourist attractions, since they were designed to blend seamlessly into the environment. They have no furniture, but can be entered, and vistas of the farm can be viewed from inside them.[1] A "Welcome to Hobbiton" sign has been placed on the main road.

After we had had some lunch it was back on the bus and straight through to Auckland where we stopped briefly at the Kiwi experience office to book our onward travel. Once we had got to the hostel and checked in we went straight back out again to find STA travel so we could book a tour for Fiji. This was easy enough to sort out so what are two girls meant to do on the busiest street in New Zealand……….. Shop!!! After we had finished shopping we went back to the hostel used the internet before meeting up with Liz a girl we had met on the Kiwi experience who is staying with her Auntie in Auckland.

We went for dinner down by the harbour where we all enjoyed pizza and a couple of bottles of wine between us. After we left the restaurant we decided to be really lazy andget a different style of taxi back to the hostel in the form of a bike with a carriage on the back we did feel a bit sorry for the young lad having to bike up hill with 3 of us in the back. Back at the hostel we had a few more drinks at the bar where there was a Miss Globe competition going on which got very explicit to say the least before going to bed ready for our early start in the morning.