Next stop: Hobbiton and Rotorua

After spending the night drinking overpriced Jagerbombs (fun fact: In New Zealand, it's cheaper to buy 2 dominoes pizzas than 1 Jagerbomb) in an Irish bar and camping out in their carpark, our next stop was Hobbiton.

Hobbit holes by the lake

Matamata: here sits a perfectly picturesque farm that took the eye of Peter Jackson 16 years ago for filming the home of Bilbo and Frodo in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. This was quite possibly the place Joe and I were most excited about seeing, and it was just as magical as we expected. It was so amazing to see and learn about every tiny detail that went into making these particular scenes for the movies. Walking in the same tracks as some of our favourite characters, and having a ginger beer and beef stew in The Green Dragon.

Bilbo's house at Bag End

The Shire

Next along was Rotorua - the only place you can fart and blame it on the earth, as the whole city and surrounds is sitting on a volcano, and there is a strong smell of sulphur - like rotten eggs. In recent years it has become a tourist hotspot, with people flocking every year to experience the natural hot pools, mud pools and geysers.

Lake Rotorua

 It is also the birthplace of zorbing, so of course, we gave it a go. We went on one straight and one zigzag track down a hill in a massive inflatable ball with water inside it. The second time, Joe and I went in a ball together, and crashing into each other just made it even more fun!

The greeting of the Maori chiefs

In the evening we headed to Tamaki Maori village, where we learnt about the Maori tribes, their customs, history, even the games they used to play - and had a go ourselves. The whole evening was amazingly set out, and really makes you feel like you were there experiencing a real Maori village. The men learnt the traditional "Haka" battle dance, and the women learnt Poi. The evening ended with some performances, songs and dances, followed by a meal cooked traditional using the Maori method of hot stones in large holes underground. The food was to die for and there was plenty of it!

For our final day in Rotorua, we were supposed to be going white water rafting, but after being driven out into the starting point in the forest, the staff decided the river was too high following rain last week. It was definitely disappointing but I'd rather not die. Instead, we had a free lunch and were taken to a local hot stream. Sitting in our swimwear in the middle of winter in a stream that reaches temperatures of 40 degrees definitely felt a little more than strange. It was so hot that you could see the steam coming off the surface of the water. If it wasn't for the constant eggy smell it would be natural bliss!

Next time you'll find out all about our drive from Rotorua to Wellington, our last stop on the north island. The amazing views we saw, and how Gimli burst into smoke on the motorway! Until then...