Hobbiton! On our last day in New Zealand, we made the three hour drive from Auckland down to Hobbiton, the famed set of The Lord of the Rings. We went for the full Hobbiton feast, with tours before and after sunset. The set is actually on a sheep farm. When the location scouts initially inquired,…
We continue my journey through New Zealand as Jon, Pei, and I flew from Queenstown in South Island back up to Auckland in North Island and were joined by Young, Jessica, Karen, and Sam. It was a drastic change of scenery; despite being surrounded by plenty of nature, Auckland itself is very much a city. Breakfast at…
This is the second part of many in my journey through New Zealand and Australia. We pick up on Day 3 of our time in South Island, and the beautiful scenery continues. After lunch in Queenstown, we drove up to Wanaka (rhymes with Hannukah), where we would stay that night. We opted for a short…
New Zealand’s South Island is incredibly scenic. It’s the kind of setting that lends itself to descriptions like ‘awe-inspiring,’ ‘spectacular,’ ‘resplendent.’ It’s almost too much to take in when you’re actually there, when every turn reveals a different, equally impressive landscape. Now, in hindsight, having placed it in context with the rest of my three-week trip through New…