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| Rappe Fam in Hobbiton |
After the six lovely days in Victor Harbor, the five of us headed back to the airport in Adelaide to set off on the 5 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand! Our time was spent solely on the North Island, as we only had six days to explore. The flight went incredibly smoothly...Air New Zealand has video players on the back of the headrest in front of each seat, and there were such fun games that none of us even watched videos to pass the time. Trent and the kids liked challenging each other (by seat number through the game) to the competitive games. There was a hidden pictures game that I liked, and also a game like Boggle, and a couple of little strategy games that Beaux showed me. Before we knew it, we were landing and grabbing our luggage.
There was a bit of a scuffle at customs. We had all packed our riding boots and helmets for the horse trek scheduled in a few days. They had us unpack all our boots and took them to a back room for a while...Eventually our boots were brought back sopping wet, having been sprayed with "virus-cide" in case we were transferring any horrible diseases from the Northern Territory in Australia. At least we got to keep them! Then, the rental car that was assigned to us did not have a working cigarette lighter - which is important only for the fact that our GPS directions system needed that port for power! So, after a LONG wait, they got us a different car and we were off. It was pretty late by that point so we just grabbed McDonald's for dinner on the way to our first stay.
It was full dark by the time we arrived at the Top House, outside of Cambridge in the central part of the north island. The house is up a very windy road on a hill, and Beaux and I (the carsick ones) were very happy to arrive, finally! It was like a cute cabin and just wonderful. The home itself was a bit older, but had cozy furniture, comfy beds, each bedroom had its own bathroom, really spacious and well-laid out and really really helpfully -- the home was stocked with milk, butter, jam, fruit, bread, eggs, and a few other things that took the pressure off going right back out in the morning for groceries! The kids' favorite part was the use of the hot tub right off the deck and overlooking the whole valley, when the mists didn't obscure the view and make it look like we were living in the clouds.
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| Top House Cambridge, New Zealand |
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| View from Top House over valley |
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| The Hot Tub was our favorite feature! |
There was a lovely lawn all around and we only ever saw a couple people walking or driving around while we stayed there. Top House is owned by the cattle farmers living at the bottom of the hill and is actually part of a reserve where they are trying to protect native species and bring them back to stability. A lot of the area has been injudiciously run with cattle.
Driving through New Zealand is really beautiful, so green and rolling. Lots of farmland up and down those hills...I didn't see much flat land. Cute fluffy sheep and cattle dot the green in many places. We didn't see tons of wildlife, except possums and birds.
The first morning at the Top House was leisurely, just using some of the breakfast items they stocked the house with. Beaux made eggs for those who wanted them. Then we headed into Cambridge to explore the shops and get some lunch. We found a little cafe that served bagels, sandwiches and banana french toast with bacon. It was packed with teapots and handcrafted items, art and painted sawblades. Really cute, and we all perched around a tiny round table to eat our goodies.
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| This is such a good idea! |
Our experience was the "Te Ra" daytime self-walk where we saw the Pohutu geyser erupting right away! The mineral content of the water creates crazy colors and shapes of the rocks near the geysers. We saw mud pools where the mud is boiling and jumps up and falls down in little gloops that reminded us of frogs jumping. They weave in Maori culture a bit to show how traditionally they used "steamboxes" to cook food over geothermal vents.
A reconstructed Maori village and lots of carving and weaving examples are all over the touring area. We did not go to any demonstrations or traditional Maori feasts, so it was really fun to see the culture and crafts of the people. New Zealand's national bird is the endangered kiwi -- A flightless bird (doesn't even have wings) with a long beak. We got to see several in a nocturnal kiwi house in Te Puia. They are a bit bigger than a chicken and very active! They have long skinny feathers that hang down the way an emu's does.
The gift shop was very extensive so we spent some time in there before they had to kick us out for closing time. Drive time back to our Top House was over an hour so we stayed in Rotorua for dinner. We found a family restaurant called Cobb's that was pretty good and served the kids meals in a little cardboard stagecoach. Unfortunately, Trent ordered nachos...we learned that it probably is just as bad an idea to order Mexican food in New Zealand as it is in Australia. We did get back home in time for a hot tub soak before showers and bed. The beds were really very comfy and the bathrooms had heated towel racks which helped dry the towels and our swimsuits. Great feature!
The whole family was excited for our next day's adventure -- Hobbiton!! We were up and at 'em early to make the drive (I think 45 minutes) to The Shire's Rest in Matamata where our tour began at 10:00am. The reconstructed movie set of Hobbiton is actually on 10 acres of a 1250 acre working sheep farm, so it is run with tour buses only. The Shire's Rest is where the tours begin/end, and also a gift shop and cafe'. The drive on the tour bus is only 10 minutes at the most; a quick trip through rolling green hills and sheep crossing the road, and the magic begins!
Hobbiton is kept up like it is ready for the movie...The hobbit holes are just skin deep -- there are only a couple doors that actually open with a room inside. All that shooting was done in studios, but the outsides of each one are so unique!
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| Bees and butterflies were everywhere in the fantastic real gardens... |
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| The Frog Pond |
There are 39 hobbit holes - each built into the side of a hill, most have visible chimneys (some of which are smoking to add authenticity), decorated windows and little knick-knacks outside the door. The flowers are amazing and there are real gardens growing produce - just like you'd imagine you'd see in the Shire! They actually employ 13 full-time gardeners to keep the place up and looking like Hobbits live there. The laundry is hanging on the lines, all the fences, gates, and structures are made to look like they belong to Middle Earth. Our guide told us that to make the fences look old, the set designers mixed glue, lichen, yoghurt, and paint and flung it at the wood. Worked like a charm!
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| The Bakery |
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| Bag End at the top of the hill |
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| View from Bag End |
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| Looks like the entire top of the hill belongs to Bag End...multiple windows and chimneys! |
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| We think this was Samwise Gamgee's door... |
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| The Party Tree |
The gardeners had had a pumpkin growing contest and all the huge pumpkins were displayed. Then on a Merry Meander around the large pond to the Watermill. It is a beautifully thatched building on the water with a waterwheel that would actually work, if the water had current.
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| View of the Mill and Bridge leading to The Green Dragon |
The picturesque bridge leads across to The Green Dragon, where each guest receives a free drink (we had the only non-alcoholic one - Ginger Beer) and has the option to buy a quick meat pie or snack. The inside of The Green Dragon has been made completely authentically and you are able to sit at the tables and drink, or sit in armchairs by the fire. The cat, Pickles, is very famous, so we got a picture of it as well. A local Maori craftsman carved the green dragon that is above the serving counter. Everything is just absolutely fantastic and the attention to detail is amazing!
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| Jax looks at walking sticks in Green Dragon |
The tour was over around noon, so when we arrived back at The Shire's Rest, we got some food at the cafe'. Trent got a BLT, Beaux thought about getting Second Breakfast, but got the Kid's Platter instead. Jones, Jax, and I got Elevenses. The kids all patronized the gift shop, and we were on our way to the next fun thing of the day!
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves are about an hour west of Hobbiton. For over 125 years tours have been conducted into the underground limestone caverns. There is a type of moth that, in the larvae stage, glows in the quiet darkness of the caves. We got to climb down, down, down into the caves and then ride on a boat in the river through the Glowworm Grotto. They have no lights down there and the guide pulls the boat along on a series of cables, so the whole thing is totally silent. The glowworms dot the ceiling and walls of the cave and it literally looks like the starry sky when you look up! Unfortunately, photos are not allowed, so we don't have a visual record, but it was a really cool experience. We grabbed some pizza on the way back to our holiday home and had some dinner and Lord of the Rings for the evening.
Next morning we were packing up and saying good-bye to the Top House. We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, through Auckland to our next stay at Bethell's Beach Cottages. Our Garmin had outdated information for New Zealand, which dead-ended us several times, but we rallied and made it to the house unscathed! The Te Koinga cottage was a bit out of the way, so the owners recommended getting groceries before settling in. It was more of a B&B feel, with the owners living on the property and several other cottages available.
I cannot begin tell you how absolutely breathtaking the view of the Tasman Sea, the black sand of Bethell's Beach, and the grounds of this location were! The gardens and lawns were immaculate, and extensive - with butterflies and huge bumblebees bipping and bopping amongst the varying flowers. There were roses and lavender and daisies and lots of plants I didn't recognize. They had purple grapes ripe for eating hanging from a pretty arbor. Right next to our cottage was a giant size chess set that the kids loved playing with.
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| View from Bethell's Beach lawn toward Tasman Sea over the dunes |
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| Balloon plant - a tropical milkweed |
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| Bethell's lawn looking back toward the hills of New Zealand |
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| Bumblebee and honeybee sharing a flower |
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| View of Bethell's Beach Cottages from the beach |
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| Our cottage - Te Koinga |
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| View of our cottage from the beach - Letting the breeze in! |
We planned a half-day horse ride with Muriwai Beach Horse Treks. In this area north of Auckland on the western shores, the sand is black due to volcanic activity. Our ride would take us on the black beaches, through the dunes, across some beautiful landscapes with toetoe plants (looking like giant pampas with feathery wheaty stalks) and great big forested areas. We read that parts of the Narnia films were shot in this area. There was only one other rider with our family, as well as two guides. It was a really fun ride, and I am so glad the kids had had lessons and could manage their horses! I was on Maximus, who got grouchy when riders behind got too close. Beaux rode Tonka, who was a bit headstrong. Jones had Scooter, who loved the water. We can't remember Jax's horses name...maybe Rosie. We had lots of up and down, and through plants, and wading in streams and even in the ocean...although the horses didn't seem to love that. They had several places to canter if we wanted, so Trent, Beaux and I did, but mostly the kids were happy to walk and trot and check everything out. Trent was riding a Clydesdale and he surprised us all when he mentioned how smooth "Strawberry" cantered!
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| Jones and Scooter knee-deep |
The horse trek was a great way to check out the New Zealand scenery off the beaten track. We had a fun lunch out before returning to Bethell's Beach and hanging out the rest of the day. Trent and the boys went down and played at the beach, while we girls rested and read. Again, the windy roads did a number on our motion sickness. Dinners were just simple - quesadillas with rotisserie chicken, spaghetti, etc.
A free day of playing on the lawns, walking the beach, dabbling in the ocean and exploring was to be had the following day. Croquet, chess, and ping-pong.
Running up and down hills, swinging in the hammocks...Time to head to the beach! We made sure to go down at low tide this time because there are caves to be accessed only when the water is low enough. A huge cave was at the southern end of Bethell's, while at the northern end there were caves leading through the hill to the other side! There is a funny rock island that has a fence and door, like 15 feet above the sand. I wonder who has access to that...We found lots of pretty shells -- purple snail shells, pink scallops, green clamshells, and some of the paua shells (abalone) that are absolutely stunning.
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| Blue-bottle jellyfish (Portuguese man-of-war) |
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| Crazy sign to see on the beach...we never ran into any quicksand! |
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| Paua shell -- abalone |
While on our horse trek we saw sand dollars, but we weren't able to get down and collect them! There were a few blue bottles (Portuguese man-of-war jellyfish) on the beach one day as well. Those things are everywhere! These were surf beaches, so we got to see some surfing from the beach and also from our deck back home, as the surfers seem to stay out until dark on the waves!
The sunset from our open back door was magical. Thanks to God for His glorious artistry!
The kids all slept great, though perhaps a bit hot in a little room with three bunk beds. Next morning was up really early for the final trip through Auckland and to the airport for our flight home.
We ended up cutting this too tight -- what with having to stop for me to dry heave on the side of the road, Garmin failing us several times, not considering the long line at a big airport like Auckland, filling out extra customs paperwork, not having breakfast because we were getting it at the airport but then not having time, running through the halls as they paged our flight as final call, leaving our boarding passes somewhere before security so they had to reprint them before allowing us on...not nearly as relaxing and smooth as the flight in had been. BUT we made it and so did our luggage, so everything was still good!
Luckily, New Zealand Air is very nice to fly, and the kids had their headrest video games to look forward to. So, we relaxed and the flight was fine. This time we were ready for the long acceptance time by Australian customs for our riding boots...didn't know they would like to know all the clothes we were wearing for the ride as well! They took a pile of jeans and boots to their back room for a while and gave them all back wet -- virus-cided I suppose!
So, we were back in Adelaide, South Australia! Final couple days of this particular adventure. This time we did not rent a car, so grabbed a maxi-taxi to take us to Adelaide Shores, a caravan and holiday park near the airport, but right on the beach. We had a cabin reserved, but people camp in tents, or bring their caravan or whatever for their stay. It is really kid friendly with bounce pillows, pool, splash park, go-kart rentals, etc. We mostly ate food from the Neptune Cafe, which was close, as we didn't want to get tons of groceries for just two days.
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| Sunhat + helmet = Fashion statement |
We all loved the go-karts and the little cabin. It was clean and nice and everything fun to do was within walking distance!
The beach was just down some stairs and we had nice walk there one day.
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| Adelaide beach to the east |
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| Adelaide beach to the west |
Took a cab on Sunday to a yummy pizza place called Amico's and then walked down the street from there to an evening church service. It was very interesting and one of the lady pastors came and gave Jax an encouraging "word from the Lord." Everyone was very friendly and one of the people even lent us their phone to call for our taxi again.
The next morning was check-out and airport, back to Alice Springs! One thing I didn't see in New Zealand was a sheepskin rug, which I wanted to look for, but in the Adelaide airport there was a Made in Australia store, where I found and bought an Ugg wool rug, so I was happy about that keepsake from the trip!
As you can see, we did not go to lots of tourist traps or shop very much. But it was our kind of holiday, and we can definitely say we enjoyed experiencing South Australia and northern New Zealand. What a blessing to have been given the adventure. Thanks for coming along!
Love,
Hilary and Family
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| Looking out toward Antarctica...can't quite make it out. |
