Monday, March 16
By Monday we were pretty worn out and as a result it turned out to be the most low-key of all of our days in New Zealand. Even the drive from our little hobbit hotel to our first activity of the day--the Hairy Feet Tour--ended up being oddly silent. After six days of excitement, I think our adrenaline stores were finally starting to run low and it was all we could do to keep from snipping at each other all day long.
Sagging energy levels and edginess aside, we, with as much excitement as we could muster, arrived at the Hairy Feet Tour all bedecked in rain gear to be prepared for the potential deluges of rain that Cyclone Pam might have brought. Luckily it only sprinkled and we (mostly) enjoyed a lovely three-hour tour of one of the sites where the Hobbit was filmed. Like Hobbiton this picturesque locale (also a sheep farm) was discovered by location scouts via helicopter. Sir Peter Jackson (the director of the Hobbit movies) had come there and declared it just right for some of the filming, a fact which made the tour guide/owner very proud.
There were no props here as there were in Hobbiton, only the gorgeous backdrop that can be seen through some of the scenes of the movie. The tour guide/owner had a booklet with pictures from scenes of the movie, so that we could be reminded of which scenes they were, and imagine ourselves standing right where some famous actor had stood before us.
He took us walking on trails that he'd built himself
…and pointed out distinctive rocks, tree limbs, and the limestone cliff faces that could be seen through the movies.
The rock Thorin is sitting on in the picture below is one of the rocks also in the picture above...
Then the guide had us stand underneath the distinctive rock shown in this clip….
and reenact it for posterity to see.
He also happily used my camera to snap family shots of us in several different locations!
We so rarely get pictures of us all together, do not be surprised if one of the photos in this post ends up being in our Christmas card this year!
Hopefully the smile fakers aren't as obvious to anyone else...
Luckily there was nothing fake about this view though….WOW!
After we stopped ogling over the view, we found food ASAP, which helped the mood of the fam at least slightly. Then we went to the Kiwi House in Otorohanga where we saw a real live kiwi. But pictures weren't allowed, so this is all we have!
I can't remember what else we did that day (and have no pictures to remind me), but suffice it to say that there was some good old-fashioned comfort food involved (pizza) as well as some time for everyone to chill.
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