A Once in a Lifetime Trip to New Zealand Part I - Hobbiton

The flight from Tahiti to New Zealand was five and a half hours, and we lost a day along the way when we crossed the International Dateline. That was a bit odd--leaving on a Sunday evening and arriving late Monday night. I wrote one more email to Chris the night we arrived in Auckland. After that we were so busy that I didn't get a chance to write again. Our first experience in New Zealand was kind of hilarious and is best described in the email I sent to Chris:

"We arrived in Auckland about an hour and a half ago, and I am now sitting in our hotel room with my back to the shower while John showers. Why? Because it's see through! We just about died. There's a 'privacy' screen, but it's still see through enough that it's more than a bit unnerving. 

Today was just packing and traveling. It was a little sad to leave Tahiti behind, but it will probably be good to get out of the constant sun. Despite all the sunscreen I've used, my forehead is peeling. John electrocuted himself again today. Not as bad, but still not good. We need to figure out why he keeps getting electrocuted by the adapter. My tummy is feeling better, so that's happy. Must have gotten some mild food poisoning."

After a good night's sleep in Auckland, we rented a car, and John prepared to drive on the wrong side of the road. My job was to navigate and keep reminding him where the car should end up as we made turns and entered and exited roundabouts. He got so used to driving that I ended up not driving at all. He said the hardest part was getting his blinker and wind shield wipers mixed up. Everything was on the opposite side from what we're used to. 

Our first destination was a two hour drive to Matamata where we began our Lord of the Rings journey. With the One Ring in hand we made our way to Hobbiton. The drive was gorgeous. Almost immediately, we both fell in love with New Zealand.

Party Tree! 

 

Bag End!

Samwise Gamgee's House

The Green Dragon

Hobbiton was awesome and pretty much exactly what we expected. After our tour we jumped back in the car and drove for another hour to Rotorua where we planned on staying the night and spending the next day. That's when things became a little bit complicated . . .