Middle Earth Tours on the North Island

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, 
and it's very difficult to find anyone.' ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

In honour of The Hobbit opening next month, and premiering in Wellington, New Zealand November 28, I thought I would talk about the Tolkien inspired tours available in Middle Earth (otherwise known as New Zealand). Specifically on the North Island.

The first thing I did when I arrived in New Zealand was head to Rotorua. Tours to Matamata, where the Hobbiton Movie Set is located, can be arranged from the tourism office in Rotorua, or at any hostel. I highly recommend it. www.hobbitontours.com

The cost of the tour from Matamata is $75NZD, from Rotorua it is $110NZD (as of today's date). The tour includes Bag End, though I couldn't go up to it and it was behind scaffolding, due to preparations for filming. Usually guests are able to go up to Bag End. The party tree, that was featured in The Fellowship of the Ring, the pub, and several hobbit holes are found among the rolling hills that comprise the sheep farm where the set is located.  Photos can be taken, but you are asked not to post the photos to any social media outlet, or email them. It was very exciting to see Hobbiton, the only thing that was unShire-like the day I visited was the rain!

I highly recommend the Lord of the Rings tour in Wellington.  There are two options, both can be bought from the toursim office (iSite). There is a half day tour that includes Mount Victoria where the four hobbits first encountered the black rider, and Kaitoko Regional Park where Rivendell scenes were shot. The full day tour also includes lunch, Peter Jackson's film studios, and a visit to the Weta Cave in Miramar. 
www.wellingtonrover.co.nz/rover_rings_tour.htm

Me and Gollum, Weta Cave

For a more in-depth description of my day tour in Wellington, see my blog post: Lord of the Rings Tour in Wellington, NZ from May 2012. www.nomadgirltravels.blogspot.ca/2012/05/lord-of-rings-tour-in-wellington-nz.html

Tours are also offered in Tongariro National Park, where quite a few of the Mordor scenes were filmed. www.tourism.net.nz/region/ruapehu/ruapehu---tongariro-national-park/tours/lord-of-the-rings-tours Tours can be booked through hostels in and around Tongariro National Park. Or another option is to hike the Tongariro Crossing. This is New Zealand's most popular day hike. It takes approximately eight hours to complete and it is recommended that hikers have layers of clothing and a lunch with them, due to the changing weather patterns on the volcanoes. www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/

~Angie

Whale Watching

I have gone whale watching off Vancouver Island, British Columbia...and did not see any whales! Ten years later, I got the chance to go whale watching again. This time, on the East Coast, off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This time I saw whales!

I had the option to go as an excursion of my Moose East tour of Canada. Our whale watching experience was through Captain Zodiac in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia. Cost was $30CAD. http://www.novascotiawhales.com/

~Angie

Lest We Forget

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
~Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Canadian soldier, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, wrote the war memorial poem, In Flanders Fields, during the second battle of Ypres, in Belgium on May 3, 1915. It is about his fallen comrades who were buried in Flanders. 

This poem, and the poppy, have become a symbol of our veterans from the First and Second World War, and the Korean War. Every year, in November, the Royal Canadian Legion distributes poppies and Canadians wear them to honour our soldiers, who fought for our freedom. Poppies are worn in Britain as well, where Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day.

I was recently in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I visited the Canadian National War Memorial there. The war monument depicts soldiers on the battlefront, with a cannon behind them. As you walk around the memorial, the years of the three wars are etched into the monument. In front of the War Memorial, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier is prominently displayed.

World War I, the War Memorial, Ottawa

World War II, the War Memorial, Ottawa

The Korean War, the War Memorial, Ottawa

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the War Memorial, Ottawa

 Lest we forget.

~Angie

Guy Fawkes Day

Guy Fawkes was an English Catholic who, along with two fellow Catholic Englishmen, was involved in a plot to blow up the British Parliament in 1605. Their plan was to blow up Parliament and assassinate King James I, thus restoring a Catholic monarch to the throne. It did not work. 

Guy Fawkes was in charge of the gunpowder for this plot, and was guarding it when he was discovered during the early hours of the morning of November 5, 1605. This plan to assassinate King James I and blow up Parliament was also know as the Gunpowder Plot.

Guy Fawkes has become synonymous with the Gunpowder plot. Every year on the anniversary of this failed attempt to blow up Parliament, monarchists throughout the British Commonwealth celebrate by throwing a dummy symbolizing Guy Fawkes on a bonfire, or with a fireworks display. November 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Day.

I have been to a Guy Fawkes party in Canada where there was a dummy thrown into a bonfire.  I also attended the Guy Fawkes Day festivities in Wellington, New Zealand. The whole city goes down to the waterfront to watch the fireworks! It is a lot of fun.

Fireworks on the Wellington waterfront

Fireworks on the Wellington waterfront

~Angie

Ah...Paris! A Night(mare) to Remember

I was left behind. By my tour. In Paris. My first night there. 

Here's what happened...

It was July, I was on a Contiki tour of Western Europe. The first stop on the tour - Paris! Oh was I excited! I had always wanted to go to Paris! After arriving in the city, we went for supper, then left to go see the most famous sight in Paris - La Tour Eiffel! The Eiffel Tower! 

The Eiffel Tower

I was on the trip with my cousin. On our tour were several Australians, a few Canadians (like myself), some Europeans, Mexicans, and Americans. We had about an hour to spend at the Eiffel Tower. However, it was a really long lineup to get to the elevator. 

In the small group of six that I went to to the top of the tower with were: Three Australians, one American, my cousin and me. We went to the first viewing platform and got a few photos of the city from there. Then, we went to the top. It was dark by then, so our photos were not great. In all we were at the top of the tower for about five minutes before we had to leave to go back to our bus. Rocket, our bus driver, made it very clear that we had to be back on time. He would not wait.

As we were advancing in the line, there was one group of six ahead of us. Just as they were getting on, one Australian in our group commented that it would be ironic if we missed the lift because it was full. Guess what? It was.

As a result, we did not make it down to the bottom on time and our tour bus left us stranded at the Eiffel Tower!

Fortunately, the American girl and I spoke French. We knew there was a Métro station near our hotel, so we had an adventure getting back! We left the Eiffel Tower at around 10:00PM and did not make it back to our hotel until 1:00AM. 

Though it turned out to be a fun experience, it has left a negative impact on me that I still deal with today. I am very scared of being left behind by any tour that I am on. In fact, it was so stressful for me that I did not go on another tour for nine years. I am unusually prompt now for any pick-up times. People have commented on that, but it is something that I will always have in the back of my mind. I was left behind once. Who's to say it won't happen again?

Bon voyage! Et bonne chance!

~Angie