This is another "catch up" post from our trip to New Zealand in April of 2004. I did a quick post back then with some pictures and I thought I'd re-work for the blog.
On our way to Denver we ran into a blizzard.
When we arrived in LA we took the subway to Universal Studios!
While there we did the studio tour, which I videotaped.
We also went to the Waterworld Stunt Show.
Oddly enough, I videotaped that also......
We did the Back to the Future ride and also did the Jurassic Park ride. The Jurassic park ride had a bunch of mechanical dinosaurs that was just awesome! There were brontosauruses (brontosauri?) and even a couple of baby raptors fighting over a popcorn box.
We flew out to New Zealand for the wedding that night. We arrived in Auckland at 6 or so in the morning and hit the town. We went down by the sparkplug which you can now jump from. It costs $50 to go to the top (630 feet) and for $195 you can jump off the top. You're hooked to a cable so it's a controlled drop and there are two guide cables that keep you from bouncing off the side of the building but I thought $195 for 16 seconds was a bit much.
The wedding was the following day. The groom and some buddies and I went out on the harbor and went fishing again.
The next day Annita and I went to Rotorua, the geothermal area of the north island. On the way we stopped in Matamata which is where The Shire was filmed for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The contracts for the film sites stated that six months after filming was complete the sets were to be destroyed. When the time came it was pouring down rain and they couldn't get into the sheep paddock to get them destroyed. The owners of the fields asked New Line Cinema if they could keep them and give guided tours. New Line agreed but there were many stipulations. They couldn't be restored, the guides and workers could not dress like hobbits (visitors could), and lots of other things. They're working on seeing if they can restore the hobbit holes and actually expand them. You'll notice in the films that they show hobbits opening the doors and starting to step in but then the scene cuts to somewhere else. That's because the holes were only 2 or 3 feet deep on the inside. They built the houses out of the cheapest materials and expected them to last 6 months. It's now 7 year later and they're still standing. The roof caved in on Bilbo's house and they were given the OK to fix it and actually expand it. You can step inside of it (I have a picture of that later). It's pretty interesting history. The site is a 30 minute drive from town where you buy the tickets and have a chance to buy merchandise.
I had to make a purchase there.
The guide took us up on a hill overlooking the site. The lake is visible from there.
One of the first things you do walking up to the Shire is to walk under a branch. When Gandalf rides into town and Frodo jumps on with him, fireworks are mentioned and they shoot out of the wagon at that point. That branch is visible in the shot.
The guide took us around and showed us various places where things were located in the movie. He stood under the party tree and announced that this was the spot that Bilbo was standing on when he put on the ring and disappeared.
On the climb up the hill you can see Sam's house.
We then made our way up to Bilbo's house.
We walked back down the hill and I took a couple more pictures of the Shire.
In all we spent about 2-1/2 hours out in this pasture. I loved it, but Nita wasn't all that impressed with it.
The site has been completely rebuilt for the Hobbit trilogy. It has an Inn and a bar!!!
On the climb up the hill you can see Sam's house.
We then made our way up to Bilbo's house.
I'm sitting in the window that Gandalf drug Sam through.
We walked back down the hill and I took a couple more pictures of the Shire.
In all we spent about 2-1/2 hours out in this pasture. I loved it, but Nita wasn't all that impressed with it.
The site has been completely rebuilt for the Hobbit trilogy. It has an Inn and a bar!!!
We made our way onto Rotorua and went to the geothermal area. We stopped here (good luck pronouncing that!!!).
There was a lot of steaming ponds there, as well as some geysers and hot pools.
The sulfur smell was in the air and left it's mark on the landscape.
There was a lot of steaming ponds there, as well as some geysers and hot pools.
The sulfur smell was in the air and left it's mark on the landscape.
We then drove back to Auckland and flew to Fiji.
Our room was right on the beach.
We played golf at a REALLY nice course.
The sunsets there are unbelievable.
The hot little chick on the beach wasn't bad either!!!!
We went snorkeling on the reef and took some pictures with an underwater camera.
After snorkeling, we went for a walk and I was able to get a picture of a crab (notice the size of the footprints beside the crab).
On the way back into town we drove by an Indian temple that is garishly painted.
Our room was right on the beach.
We played golf at a REALLY nice course.
The sunsets there are unbelievable.
The hot little chick on the beach wasn't bad either!!!!
We went snorkeling on the reef and took some pictures with an underwater camera.
After snorkeling, we went for a walk and I was able to get a picture of a crab (notice the size of the footprints beside the crab).
On the way back into town we drove by an Indian temple that is garishly painted.
