Hobbiton 7-10-13

It takes an hour and a half to drive there so we get Maddy up at 8:30 in order to set off at 9:30am. Geoff had booked tickets the night before for the 11:30am tour and we made it with 30 mins to spare, just time to get a fridge magnet and postcard before being bumped up onto the 11:15 tour! The film set is 12 acres in the middle of a sheep farm of 1300 sheep and 500 Angus cattle (for McDonalds Angus burgers) so there is a 5-10 min bus journey to the start.
Hobbit holes, Bag End, the party marque, the Green Dragon for a refreshing mug of ginger beer and an informative tour guide as well. Perfect.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/112117467706582203156/albums/5931880798234088529 has all the photos on it but here is a small selection.

 Bag End, just right for blowing smoke rings.

the tree on top of Bag End isn't real! It's made from silicone and plastic

 

 Hobbit houses come full size 100% or 60% for humans to stand in front of. Originally they were made out of ply, polystyrene, and untreated timber and then replaced with permanent structures that should last 50 years or so.

 Marque for Bilbo's 111th birthday - Bag End is just above

 Sam Gamgee's place

 Over the bridge to the Green Dragon

 Ginger Beer - very tasty

 

Giant cheese scones served at the Green Dragon with raspberry jam. Maddy wasn't too keen on hers so Geoff and I finished it for her.

Huka Prawn Park 1-10-13

After a day of rest (and variable weather) we ventured out south this time to Taupo and the Prawn Park we spotted when we went to Huka Falls. This time the weather was perfect so we paid the full amount to get in and started by feeding the trout and taking the nature walk.

Shawn's Gauntlet  - run through and don't get caught by the water.

 

From here we went on the guided tour round the prawn breeding area and nursery. We even got to feed the babies! 7 females to 1 male for breeding. 



Then it was out to the pools and a couple of hours fishing before we had 2 prawns between us, Geoff and Maddy caught them. The local mosquito fish in the ponds kept eating the bait, small chopped pieces of ox heart, but we kept trying with our bamboo canes. It wasn't as boring as you might think and very peaceful. The pools are heated from the geothermal power station next door and the water is at 25 Celsius. Too hot (35) and the prawns cook, to cold (under 15) and they freeze.

At hut 2 you can immerse your prawns in boiling water then eat them, so we did! From there it was off to Countdown (a local supermarket) for lunch which we took to the lakefront to eat while admiring the view of Mount Doom covered in snow. Awesome.

Mud Pools 29-9-13

3km up the road are some mud pools, fascinating to see the steam and the glup everywhere.