NEW ZEALAND - DAY 5

Day 5 - Friday, March 22
We left Hamilton and headed to Turangi (Too-rang-ee) where we would begin our stay at the Time Share condo - Turangi Leisure Lodge.

On the way we stopped by Hobbiton - the movie set for Lord of Rings and The Hobbit.  As we were walking down the path to the office, a gentleman introduced himself to Virgil as John Wells and explained that he drove a bus for Hobbiton.  He told Virgil not to waste the $75.00 because he would not enjoy the tour.  He told him he should just get a bite to eat and wait in Shire's Rest (a snack bar/restaurant of sorts) for me to go.  So we decided to do just that.

It was a good thing Virgil did not go.  The bus took us to a point and dropped us off. We then walked some narrow gravel trails around to see the Hobbit houses, the Party Tree, and a break at the Green Dragon.  They gave a free beverage - ginger beer being the only non-alcoholic drink.  It was cold and delicious ginger ale.  I purchased a scone which was a very big, dense cheese biscuit.  I saved half of it for Virgil.  The tour took about 2 hours.  The movie set was built on a farm owned by the Alexander brothers.  It was chosen because it was pretty much virgin land. It was a sheep farm, had no power lines over it and had a wonderful big tree which fit the description of the Party Tree described by J. R. R.Tolkein.  The New Zealand army actually helped construct the sets and some of the soldiers were even in the movies.  When the movies were over, the film company promised to have everything removed in 6 months.  At the end of the 6 months, they had not completed the work so they negotiated a new contract with the Alexanders.  Part of that contract was that the Hobbit Houses would stay and the Alexanders would be allowed to give tours.  They charge $75 per person, and appear to be doing very well with it.  Virgil and a hot dog and bottle of water at The Shire's Rest for a cost of $9.00.

We then continued our way to Turangi.  The GPS took us a scenic instead of direct route, but we didn't mind.  We enjoyed watching the countryside change from grassy hillsides to mountain forests.

We checked in to Turangi Leisure Lodge about 3:30 and received our complimentary milk.  Virgil laid down to rest and I walked around and found a grocery store.  I purchased ham, eggs and milk, which became our supper.