HOBBITS

Rotorua is also known as Rotten-rua because there is a constant sulphur smell that hangs over the town. Basically everywhere smells a bit eggy. Its something to do with the fact it pretty much on top of volcanic rocks I think. Anyway, the day we went luging which is effectively a go kart without an engine. You make your way up a massive hill in a gondola and then choose a track out of scenic, intermediate or advanced. You have pull the handle bars half way to move and all the way back to break. It sounds silly but racing around corners surrounded by trees and nature is surprisingly a lot of fun.
That night we went to a Maori village which was fascinating. The village was all laid out beautifully and they had little demonstrations of wood carvings, fitness tests and how to do the haka. We also got to see a performance of Maori song and dance to learn more about their culture and way of life. However, one of everyone's favourite part of the evening was the food. We had a hangi which is a feast that is cooked over rocks in a sand pit in the ground. Given that none of us had really had a proper meal in a while it couldn't have been more perfect. Don't think I've had such tasty and nicely cooked chicken and lamb before and being able to eat fresh cooked vegetables was a novelty so we all stocked up. The stuffing was incredible too. Dessert consisted of peaches and pavlova which was also delicious. There were two of the guys who managed 3 plates piled high with the main course and then 3 bowls of pudding, literally have no idea how they managed it. The bus journey back to the hostel was hilarious too with the driver getting every country to sing a song from home. We naturally sang Stop by The Spice Girls. The bus driver then started singing "She'll be coming round the mountain" whilst doing circles around roundabouts. No bus journey would be complete with "The Wheels on the Bus" except this one was a little bit different with lines such as 'The driver on the bus.......has no licence, no licence, no licenceeeeee'.
The next morning I had a walk down to the lake to work off the previous nights meal and it was gorgeous. The water was so clear and the sun was glistening. I could never get bored of looking out over lakes and oceans. I love the people over here too, they are so friendly. Everyone smiles at each other and if a tourist looks lost the chances are a local will notice and offer some help. There's such a massive sense of community everywhere.
In the afternoon we went to Hobbiton. I could hardly contain my excitement it was untrue.  We got picked up at the hostel and then drove about an hour to Matamata which is where the set is. It looked just like it does in the films; so authentic.  The amount of work that leads to so much detail is unbelievable, the production team spent 3 weeks attaching plums and leaves to represent a tree mentioned in book. The tree is only seen for about 10 seconds! The way they filmed size differences between the Hobbits and Gandalf was pretty creative too. There's a scene where him and Bilbo are sat on a bench outside a hobbit hole and they made the illusion by sitting Bilbo 3 metres behind Gandalf. It works perfectly because the camera is always head on and doesn't move. I've added some pictures as my descriptions do it absolutely no justice.
This morning we went to a geothermal park called Te Puia which was interesting, its full of geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot pools. We got to learn a bit more about Maori culture too. Some of the wood carvings they do are so detailed it really is incredible.
Today its off to Taupo. Some of us have had to get a public bus as we were on the waiting list but the bus was full. Its just a bit more of an adventure. Also, I had a hot beef sandwich today that was so big I had to eat it with a knife and fork.
Xxx