A Day of Opposites:
In deed it was! But first, the sunrise as is customary.
As I was saying, a day of opposites. It began with a taxi ride from our hotel to pick up our rental car. First opposite, usually we would bus or walk.
Opposite two; driving said car on the other side of the road from the other side of the car! I had done this twice before in Ireland, but not for many years. All went as expected without incident, but because everything on the car is in fact opposite, except the peddles and the stick, I tended to occasionally signal my lane changes with the windscreen wipers! Oops. No damage done, and I was reasonably careful for the first 20 kms which is when, if things are going to go wrong, they will. Thankfully I have some of my father's/grandfather's ambidextrous tendencies so the 6 speed stick was a breeze. It was the darn wipers that wiped when they were supposed to signal that made us laugh from time to time! Our cool little car...
A bit of scenery along the way...
Opposite 3: ¿Dónde están todas las ovejas? That means, where are all the sheep? I can confidently report that everything we hear about the millions of sheep in NZ is apparently fabricated for the tourists and the rest of the world. Pretty much all we saw on the drive down were cattle...all types. We looked and we looked, but no luck until we were close to....
Opposite 4: Geoff did something he rarely does. He went all touristy today! Yup, Geoff went to a tourist site. Of course those who know me are wondering if the world stopped turning today? It might have, but I didn't notice or care, because I went to HOBBITON!!!! We drove up to this little place off the beaten track to find that there were other LOTR types who had also been drawn inexplicably to this site in the middle of nowhere. I spoke with others who had come from all over our planet, sort of on pilgrimage to this spot. We spoke in hushed voices...why were we here?, where had we journeyed from?, why were there so few kids here?, do you suppose Pipen and Sam still live here?, will there be lunch?
We were herded onto small green buses and driven in for about 10 minutes, and then, there it was. HOBBITON in all its mystery and greenery! We gasped and left the bus like little kids...except there weren't any...all adults. Through a hedgerow and there were the first of 47 hobbit holes! 
A bit overwhelmed...they challenged us to see who could break the photo record held by a Finn. The winner would get an extra HOBBITON brew found of course only here. Apparently up until a month ago the record was only 1,200 photos in an hour. Childs play really...I knew I stood a chance. Then the guide told us that last month a Finn showed up, wouldn't speak to anyone and he shattered the record...3,700 photos if you can believe it! I didn't really want a second beer anyway.
I know many reading this are Hobbit centric, so here a few familiar photos and next time you see me ask me for the inside stories. Quite entertaining. The party tree where Bilbo's 111th birthday was celebrated. The tree is every bit as amazing as you might think at over 130 years old!
Bag End from a distance where Bilbo and later Frodo lived. They weren't home today. By the way, the famous tree above isn't too real any more...I know, me too!
Other hobbit hole...pretty tempting.
The view from just down the hill from Bag End. Note the chimneys just below me from other dwellings.
And of course the most famous hole in Hobbiton...
Then there is Sam and Daisy's home...strangely the laundry was out on the line, but again no one was home for 11's.
And lastly, The Mill down by The Green Dragon where I stopped for a cold beer hoping to have a chat with the locals. Sadly no one was home...maybe a tsunami warning was posted?
Ok, time to return to reality. Dishes after Annemarie cooked me a beautiful NZ lamb dinner with new potatoes, fresh corn on the cobb and veggies. yum! Then time to figure out what we are doing tomorrow in this land of thermals!!
Clearly a day of opposites. Still looking for the sheep and those elusive hobbits. I think if I find one, I'll find the other.
3 comments:
Enjoyed reading your first day on the road and the trials and tribulations of adjusting to your new mode of transportation. Left handed abilities some time come in very nicely when push comes to shove - or when you have shoved instead of pushed!!! or whatever.
I think I was particularly impressed at your obvious enjoyment of visiting Hobiton and your wonderful memories of the people who lived in the little village. Good stuff - will look forward to your next installment. dad
You guys are adorable.
I hope you got second breakfast......
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