christchurch - we're back!!!
we made it back to christchurch just in time to grab a delicious meal at our favorite pub, Pomeroys. Our waitor rememebered us, and glady sat us at our table getting us some drinks. We told him about our adventures over the past few weeks and he thought it was "magic"... he also thought the soup we wanted to older was "magic" along with the fact that we were heading to a rugby game... it was "magic". We got a little wild that night, found a spot for our car behind our pub (which was actually very safe) and woke up early the next morning to go for a run in their Gardens - which were stunning. It was Sunday so most everything was closed and the gardens were packed with people out for walks, birthday parties, and picnics. We then headed over to a local bar where they actually provide an awesome double decker bus to take people to the local rugby game... so we decided to treat ourselves to a hilarious bus ride, our first rugby game, and some hot dogs and beer. Needless to say, it was a blast although Col was a bit disappointed in the excitement level of the game... which i have to agree with. Us bloody americans are so used to big hits, and exciting play by plays from NFL that rubgy felt a bit slow. Granted it was our first game, so we will absolutely be giving this another shot. We then treated ourselves to a night @ Pomeroys, this time in their bed & breakfast and wished eachother a happy anniversary while listening to our wedding song, watching our video, and thinking about how freaking lucky we are. Tears, smiles, and snuggles were all shared.
After that we were off to Blenheim - the winery region of the South Isalnd. We drove up the coast, which was stunning (so calm like a lake full of giant rocks everywhere) - we stoppped in Kiakora to check out the view from their lookout point, saw some nuns, then headed down the hill and were on our way. We passed tons of seals racing, and jumping out of the water along the coast and then finally came to our adorable campsite in Blenheim. We grabbed some bikes and headed to the local wineries. we noticed, funny enough, we seemed to be following another couple who were riding similar bikes and looked a similar age... we coincidentally followed them from the first little fudge shop stop (where we had bomb rollo fudge) from wineries 1,2,3 then to the grocery store where we finally met them - another couple staying at the same place as us from Wisconsin. our favorite winery was the last one where the pourer offered colin an SF Giants jackets she had, and we enjoyed some of our favorite white wines (for 2 people who dont like white wine). Our favorite part about the other wineries, specifically the champagne one was that this guy COULD NOT get over the fact that there were no deadly animals in NZ, he was just so disappointed. we told him - hey buddy... be grateful you dont have to watch out for bears in your campsites. we then headed back to the site - and had a great time with our new Wisconsin friends & another couple we met who had been traveling for 2 years all over. they were for sure our inspiration and we loved having conversation with the 6 of them late into the night. towards the end, a crazy old new zealnder wandered over to join our conversation and perhaps killed the mood too much with talk of war and a lot of other stuff that i couldnt understand. we did go to bed happy that night though after meeting new friends and woke up early the next day to head to our next stop... lake taupo.
Lake Taupo was incredible. The town is just lovely - very Arrowheadish to me... small and quaint, but warm and full of watersports. We drove around, spent sometime at their local library and then grabbed our swimmers and headed off for a hike that we were told had some thermal pools. well thermal pools it had, with a lot more to offer. the views along the river were beautiful, and we enjoyed our 2 hour hike having good conversation, and looking forward to all the things we were going to do next. we saw the beautiful Hukka Falls in the middle and then ended it with a relaxing dip in the HOT thermal pools, they were boiling and so cool! Later that night we cooked up some dinner and camped in a bit of a valley of a campsite, and woke up to quite the view. That next day we sped like demons down the road, so excited for our next adventure... HOBBITON!!!!!
Now, I am not a huge Lord of the Rings fan - gasp! Yes, I saw them and thought they were beautiful and imaginative and scary - but lets be honest, that was a while ago now. And we did just watch the Hobbit to get a feel for it, and the moving was delightful with a terrible "ending". So we were excited for this - but also just sort of doing it, just to do it. Well - thank goodness we did it! Being involved in production I was prepared to be underwhelmed with a touristy make up of a set - but oh boy was I wrong. The set was amazing, as was the stories that went along with it. It was awesome seeing all the Hobbit holes (like 40 of them) that were scaled differently for different scenes and different types of people - so you could stand next to one which was built at 90% scale and be a hobbit or stand next to another built at 30% scale and be a wizard. They told us about tiny detials that were a must for Peter Jackson such as the following:
- he made PA's climb to the top of the clothes lines on hills every morning and night that they shot to put the clothes back up there so that there would be actaul foot prints on the ground to show their tracks
- it was filmed on a giant sheep farm, with thousands of sheep but he wanted his sheep to look more "ancient" so he shipped a whole bunch in from the UK
- for bilbo's 111 birthday party he wanted everyone to have real beer, but not be drunk so he asked some companies to make 1% beer for him, and when they said no he went and bought his own brewery... brewed it for those scenes... and called it sobering thought
- he talked the NZ government into making the airspace around his shoot prohibited for all airplanes- and if they flew in there they would never be able to fly ANYWHERE in NZ again
- the 2 gardens they have on set actually produced food that they served to everyone
- each hobbit had a mailbox that was actually associated with their job/occupation - there was even one that has beer painted on their b/c he was the town drunk
- and lastly they built the green dragon tavern that we got to end up at and have some local cider and beer... and the tavern was intricate and gorgeous
Hobbiton was a huge success - we loved every minute of it - and can't wait for COURT & RY to go!!!! you're going to love it and we thought of you guys the whole time! We drove along the coast that night, found a beach, stared at the most amazing stars we'd ever seen, and slept their before our next stop - Auckland.
Auckland was a beautiful little town along the water- we had such a good time here. Our first day we found a cute campsite outside of town, and then headed to the wharf to catch the ferry... in our true Murphy fashion we just barely missed it and then headed to a bar to wait for the next one. yup - you know how this goes... we missed the next one, the next one, and the next one. but this time it was actually concious - col wasnt feeling well, and there is nothing that will take care of a sore throat better than a beer and a warriors game for this one. and low and behold - without even looking, we stumbled up a great bar, with an awesome bar tender playing the warriors game. after seeing the smile on his face, i knew we could pass up on the wineries of wehikeke island and just enjoy our dinner plans out there after we watched the game (which was a victory of course). the ferry took us to this stunning winery called Mudbrick (another Kristen Ewing recco - thanks lady!) - and we had a private wine tasting and incredible meal... what a dinner. I'd say it was the best we had there - but the next day we went to dinner at this awsome Thai place with our new friends Mark & Kate. One of our best friends from SF (and college), now an LA girl, set us up with some of her favorite people. The intro via email included calling us Irish bunnys, beards, and sparks - thanks Mao! They came and got us and we had such a wonderful meal together, talking about traveling, volunteering, NZ, NY, Ireland and much much more. They were so wonderful to take us to dinner, and we can't wait to see them again when they visit the states - hopefully soon!!
What a wonderful way that was to end our time in NZ. We have so many memories that we will treasure forever. We know we will be back, as that place gave us a feeling we will never forget. We're so grateful for the beaches, lakes, mountains and glaciers we saw, the delicious food and wine we consumed, the kind and admirable people we met, and mostly the simple moments we got to spend together. We love you NZ! Now its time to visit the homeland... Ireland, here we come!
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