Hobbiton

Well you can't come to this part of New Zealand without visiting Hobbiton, can you...?!

As we expected, it was very "touristy", like last night's Maori Experience - but hey, it was fun - and very interesting to see the set and to hear about some of the tricks they used in the films.

One thing I didn't know is that the Hobbit houses they built in 1999 for original Lord of the Rings Trilogy films were dismantled immediately after filming; they were just made as temporary, flimsy film-set constructions. It was only when they went back 10 years later to make the Hobbit films that they decided to build rebuild Hobbiton "properly", so that it would last. Needless to say it's now a tourist goldmine!

After the gorgeous weather we had in Russell, the clouds have descended and the rain has set in. However we were very lucky as it stopped just as we arrived at Hobbiton and started again just as we left!