The journey from Hot water beach included a trip along the coast and again we managed to stop at a few places to view the lovely beaches and admire some of the stunning houses overlooking the coast. We stopped at Waihi, great surf beach, got the chairs out and had brunch (egg sarnies and coffee, simples but lovely), carried on over the Kaimai range, brilliant views and lots of bends to negotiate along the way!

We decided that, as Hobbiton was a slight detour to our next port of call (Rotorua), we would pay a visit. We eventually found the location down a 4k track on a remote farm and we were really pleased that we made the effort. Whilst the first Hobbit town consisted of a lot of CGI, they reconstructed the village on a permanent basis for the last series of films and have made it a visit well worth making.

We were lucky to have a guide from the UK (so many working in NZ) as well as a small group that consisted of just us two and three others. Consequently we were able to access a lot more than we would have done had we been in a large group. Took loads of photos and finished with a complimentary drink in the Green Dragon (proper pub in the Hobbit village). We would really recommend a visit and have both agreed to revisit the films on our return.