Tag Archives: new zealand
Matamata and the Shire
Next: the Shire in Matamata.
Matamata is only an hour or so from Rotorua. I made it there by a little after 9:00 and then drove around looking for anything Shirelike. There were no signs indicating directions, but after a few minutes I found this.
This is the Matamata i-Site building. i-Site is New Zealand’s network of tourist information offices. They turn up in a variety of different buildings. Most are ordinary, but in Rotorua it’s is in what looks like an old train station, in Cambridge it’s is in the old town hall building, and in Matamata it’s is in this Hobbit building that only opened in November.
I went in to ask for directions and found out that the tours leave from there and that the next one was due in 15 minutes.
The Shire isn’t really in Matamata. It’s on a working sheep ranch about 15 minutes away. The bus takes you out there, then another bus takes you to the Shire itself, which is somewhere in the middle of this 1250-acre ranch.
The last two people on the bus were an American couple. The woman was very upset because they had told her not to get on the bus and they only let her get on at the last minute and they could have left her behind.
“They should have left you behind” is what I didn’t say out loud.
The tour was informative but informal. We could wander around and take pictures quite a bit. Whiny Woman was unhappy because she “didn’t know what we’re supposed to be doing.”
“How about you shut up and enjoy yourself” is what I muttered under my breath.
The timing of the tour was perfect. After Lord of the Rings, most of the set was destroyed, per the original agreement between Peter Jackson and the landowners. But heavy rain slowed them down, and during the downtime the family started getting calls from people wanting to visit the set. That was when the family started thinking that it might be worth keeping.
For The Hobbit, they negotiated a different contract for more permanent construction. They also constructed a working Green Dragon, which just opened last month.
The Hobbit holes are built to different scales, depending on who would be filmed standing in front of them—smaller ones for humans, larger ones for Hobbits.
Of course, it is still just a set, so as nice as the Hobbit holes look from the outside, there’s nothing in them. Inside scenes were all filmed in Wellington.
At the Green Dragon, I shared a table with Lyndon and Deb from Australia (Lyndon took the photos of me) and Nikolai from Germany, who was planning a hike south over Mt. Tongariro. Whiny Woman sat elsewhere.
The Thermal Explorer
With the Aotearoaramblemobile in the background.
Thermal Wonders
I left Napier at about 8:30 and rolled into Taupo and took a look around, then headed north toward Rotorua. This is the Thermal Explorer Highway, which passes through the most volcanically active area of the country.
Just north of Taupo, I stopped at Craters of the Moon to wander around in an active volcanic area, because that’s what us Thermal Explorer types do. And it really is just like a moonscape, except for the lush vegetation, volcanic activity, and breathable atmosphere. It’s not as spectacular as some of the other places, but it was only $6 to get in.
After that I drove straight to Rotorua to get a room and something to eat, then headed back toward Taupo to Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland.
But first! Mud Pool. On the way into Waiotapu, there’s a sign that says simply “Mud Pool.” And if you’re a Thermal Explorer and you see a sign that says “Mud Pool,” you’re not just going to drive on by.
So I stopped. And I saw the mud. The blurping, glooping, sulphuric, volcanic mud. Here are pictures of the mud.
Then I went to Waiotapu, which really is an amazing collection of volcanic weirdness. There are vents and craters and steaming lakes and terraces and brightly colored pools and a geyser that did absolutely nothing. There’s another geyser that blows daily, but only because they prime it with soap, and that really seems like cheating. And they only fire it off in the morning, so I didn’t see it.
The mineral-rich water makes strange silica patterns.
Napier
It took longer than I expected to get to Napier. There were a few obstacles.
I expected Napier to be a sort of art deco Santa Barbara, but it’s probably more like Santa Cruz. Without the boardwalk. And with gravel beaches. And it’s really only a little art decoey. There are some art deco buildings, but a lot of it’s just lettering on signs and that sort of thing. Nice enough beach town, but overbilled by the guidebooks.
Right now I’m sitting on a downtown pedestrian street leeching wifi from one of the hotels (I think). It’s 6:30 in the morning and quite pleasant, but I have to hit the road. There are thermal wonders to see.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
…and the sign for Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
The Road Ahead
Wellington
Off to Napier now…
Hobbit at the Roxy
Right after the tour, I saw the Hobbit at the Roxy Theater down the street from Weta. The Roxy is a 1920s art deco theater restored by Peter Jackson (among others). Some of the design is a little different than your standard art deco.
The Hobbit was shown in 3D HFR (high frame rate), which is double the standard movie frame rate. It’s very different and…weird. I don’t know if it’s something I’d get used to. I thought it gave it a sort of video feel, and some of the backdrops looked really flat, even though I’m pretty sure they were shot on location. The only scenes I thought it enhanced were the darker CGI scenes, such as the ones in the goblin cave.
Weta Continued
I’m sitting outside in the very strong wind because I have an obligation to my loyal readers to bring them the most up-to-date information possible. Also because it’s the only place where I can get a triple latte and free wifi.
I picked up my rental car (a Nissan Note) yesterday afternoon and drove out to the Weta Cave. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, except for the Komodo monitor by the door.
Inside the door is a store that sells prop replicas, collectibles, and t-shirts/books/gewgaws. Prices range from a couple dollars for stickers and postcards to almost $12,000 for a made-to-order replica of Sting.
At one end of the store was a mini-museum with props and prosthetics from various movies.
When I was standing in line to buy t-shirts, I overheard someone talking about a tour, which turned out to be this:
The footsteps lead here:
This is a tour of Weta Workshop. They just started doing it in November, so it isn’t mentioned in any of the guidebooks. They have one room set up with props, prosthetics, and models in all stages of development, and you get to see the whole development process. It lasts about an hour. There are also a couple of windows to the actual work areas.
In the middle of all of this was one of the sculptors working on a full-size plastiline sculpture of Neptune, which he described as a “personal project.” He said it was going in his garden.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but we were allowed to touch most of the things we saw.