From Narnia to the Shire

So in the last few days I have seen so many surreal places.

The archway to Narnia (from the sequel), leading up to the white sandy beach, with the sun sparkling on the clear ocean water... Yep, that place is real.

Cathedral Cove is a popular tourist attraction and a wonderfully scenic half hour walk. Exceeeept it's a bit longer if you don't have a hostel and decide to do the hike with 15 kilos worth of luggage strapped to your back.












Worth it though!

After that we dropped by Hot Water Beach, where ancient magma lies under the sand, heating up a spring of water. So boiling water bubbles up underneath the sand, and a huge crowd of people storms onto the beach at low tide to dig like mad until, yes, you have your own natural Jacuzzi.








We met a nice family that let us use their shovel, and even drove us a bit of the way back.












That's when we met even more nice Kiwis, that led us down to their boats where we could crash for the night. No internet, no shower, but a clear star-speckled sky and the sun rising at breakfast.

The next day we traveled to Rotorua, city of geothermal activity and the famous rotten egg smell. I didn't do much there, because it was finally time to catch the (very early) bus to HOBBITON.

One of these really costly tourist attractions that have you wondering if it's really worth the money until you finally just do it and yes, yes it - is. (Notice Bilbo's oak tree at the top, with artificial leaves for that extra green shine.)

The set is beautifully decorated and even though there are quite a lot of tours, they are informative and well-organised so that there are never too many people in one place.

In the Green Dragon I was served a complimentary cider (which, under the New Zealand sun, gave me a very unexpected but no less pleasant afternoon buzz).

The night was spent at Lake Aniwhenua, where the Stray company organised another cultural night with the Maori. I was taught how to weave bracelets out of flax, given the traditional Hangi meal cooked int he ground, tried smoked eel aaaaand took part in a very satisfying experience: Visiting the local school to give our leftovers to the Maori first graders.

One of the kids stole my camera and I now have 100 random photos of EVERYTHING in their classroom.

The kids were so sweet and thankful.