Thursday 24th January 2019.
Today was setup to be an awesome day and somewhat maybe a shame for squeezing in two of the most incredible things to do here in New Zealand in one day. But they were booked and we were ready!
First stop of the day… Glowworms.
We chose to go with a company called spellbound who don’t use the Waitomo caves which are essentially a tourist trap with hundreds of people. Instead we visited a cave with just 12 of us in tow. David Attenborough also used this cave for his glow worm experience ?
What appeared to be a normal cave, we donned our helmets, turned on our head torches and walked through. Made it through to the main part of the cave. As impressive as the cave itself was, there were no glowworms…
…until we all turned our head torches off and wow.
Breathtakingly beautiful as we stood in amazement as the cave ceiling begin to glow and light up with hundreds of worms! One of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. From complete darkness to a cave lit and guided by little worms. Amazing.
Next up was probably the thing I have been most looking forward to for the entire trip, Hobbiton. Land of the hobbits and the film set where the filmed The Lord of The Rings and of course, The Hobbit.
If you didn’t know I am a huge geek. I love fantasy. I love everything that’s not real. For me the Hobbit is the best trilogy in the world. Captivating and incredible. I absolutely love them.
The journey to The Shire started with a small bus ride and story about how this became home of the hobbits. Incredibly it was, and still is, a working farm. A man scouted the place by air (working as a film scout) and knocked on his door. Fast forward 20 years and I am sure his life has never been the same since.
Into the shire we skipped. We made it! We were actually stood in Hobbiton and surrounded by 44 hobbit holes, the green dragon inn and the mill. Honestly, one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life.
I was worried it was going to be too busy and full of people (which it was but less than I expected) but this still didn’t spoil our experience. The attention to detail in everything is mind blowing and each and every hobbit hole is unique and different.
We trekked up to Bag End and to the hole on top of the hill. Famed for being Bilbo and Frodo Baggins home. It was so surreal and incredible. I literally must have watched the films 100 times over and to be stood here was so special.
From there we went down the hill, through the vegetable patch, passed the mill and over the bridge to the green dragon inn where a ginger beer was waiting for us.
I honestly can’t put into words how incredible and special this place felt but it really was one of the best things I’ve ever experience.
Thank you Hobbiton for being so magical ?♂️