Money

Australian currency.  There are areas of clear film that are showing up dark because of the wood they are laying on. 

Other side. 

New Zealand currency

Other side 

New Zealand coins 

Other side 

 

Last Day of Vacation

Since we were feeling lazy, we only did one sightseeing item all day.  A trip to the top of Mt Eden in Auckland. 

No road to the top here.  We had to climb.  This is a level area on the way up where we took in the sights.  This is downtown Auckland with a view of the Sky Tower.  The Sky Tower (Māori: Pourewa Rangi) is a telecommunications and observation tower.  At 1,076 ft, it is the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and the 28th tallest tower in the world. We thought about going to the observation tower but were discouraged because of our disappointing trip to the Tower Eye in Sydney.  There people were in the way of the views as they sat in the window seats playing with their phones.  

As I said, we still had some climbing to do. 

They were doing some improvements and we were unable to go all the way to the top. 

View of One Tree Hill from Mt Eden. 

This top part was a boardwalk, while lower down it was metal grating. 

Looking down at lower walkway.

The crater. 

Lunch

Good stuff!

Once at the Auckland airport, I think we were at the farthest terminal.  Signs told us there weren't any stores or food available where we were going.  After several escalators and long corridors, we made it to our gate only to be told to go back to a previous gate.  They had everyone going through another security checkpoint before going to the farthest gates. We had quite a wait because we had gotten there early 

Our ride back to the States. 

Once again we were in Premium Plus seating and got a convenience pack.  I have enough lounging socks now.  LOL.  This flight was only 11 hours long. 

Approaching San Francisco. 

Interesting thing at San Francisco.

New Zealand Subway

When I am in another country, I like to check out what's on the menu at Subway just to see how it is different from the U.S. menu.  Actually, I haven't been in a lot of Subways lately so I can't hardly remember what a U.S. Subway offers.  Can't say I've seen Buffalo Chicken in the U.S. but it's entirely possible they do offer it. 

I got my regular, chicken & bacon ranch.   I'm sure I've never seen Smashed Falafel or Leg Ham before.

Now the selection definitely looks different.  Don't know what the hot dog looking thing are.

The toppings selection looks like the usual.  I remember that the Oban, Scotland Subway offered corn kernels. 

 

Hobbiton Movie Set

One of the most anticipated stops on our vacation.

It took them a year to find this location

This map is broken down into two parts in the follow photo. 

Click on the photo to enlarge it for viewing. 

After the Lord of the Rings trilogy appeared on the movie theaters, the Alexander's began finding people roaming their land looking for Hobbiton.  So, when they were approached about rebuilding Hobbiton for the Hobbit trilogy, they knew people would pay to come see where the movies were filmed.  And they were right, before Covid took the crowds down to zero, millions came every year.  We could tell the number of visitors was down, and this was to our advantage.  Less people in our photos!! 

From the visitor center, we loaded on to a large motorcoach, were welcomed by our guide, and watched a show about the creation of Hobbiton.  This is a scene from that show that shows the creation of the hobbit holes. 

Owner of the farm

Oh no, it's a sheep jam!  We aren't going anywhere.

Scenes out the bus window.

Our first peak at Hobbiton from the bus. 

The bus stopped and we all got off at the start of this lane. 

Our first view of Hobbiton.  How exciting!  This is the location where Gandalf enters Hobbiton on his cart and is greeted by Frodo.

Bilbo's hole is the one on top of the hill. 

Each hobbit hole is unique.  No two are alike.   Different sized doors, different placement of chimneys and different placement of windows. 

They had quite the garden growing.  Produce on the table is fake. 

As the tour progress, the guide identified places where different scenes were filmed. 

Of course everything had to be made to look as if it had been there for decades.  This fake lichen was blown on. 

Fake produce. 

This area was made as an addition to the community, but it never appeared in the movie. 

This is Bilbo Baggin's hole.  If you read one of the photos at the top of this post, you will know that this tree isn't real.  It was a very expensive part of the creation of this set. 

View from Bilbo Baggin's hole.  The large building on the other side of the lake is the Green Dragon.

Entry to Bilbo Baggin's hole.  We heard a lot of interesting information about the filming at this location and in London.  

Sorry to say, we weren't allowed to enter Bilbo's place. 

View from Bilbo's hole 

 A closer shot of the garden area of the set 

Looking slightly right from Bilbo's hole. 

One last look at Bilbo's place before we start back down the hill. 

We're headed to this green open space, it's called the Party Field. 

Look at the interesting tree behind the sign.  One branch swoops down, touches the ground and goes back up. 

Hobbit holes alongside the party green 

Bilbo's place from the green 

The Party Tree.  It was huge. 

Now back to the hobbit holes alongside the party green.  See the yellow door on the right?

That's Sam's home. 

The Green Dragon

That's where we were headed next, so we just followed the signs. 

We had to watch our step around Hobbiton.  Some places fell off precipitously. 

They were rethatching the water mill. 

Almost to the Green Dragon. 

We were given a drink, non-alcoholic, when we entered and could purchase snacks at this bar.  

My sister and I sat in these nice, padded chairs while we consumed our drinks. 

Signage around the Green Dragon giving a hint of authenticity to the set. 

Interesting bathrooms. 

Notice how the blow dryers are camouflaged. 

Green Dragon from the outside with water mill in background. 

Water mill and bridge. 

Exterior of the Green Dragon. 

We walked back up the hill and loaded onto the bus for the ride back to the visitor's center.  By the way, the visitor's center is called Shires Rest.  It has a cafe and a gift shop. 

Our guide opening the gate.  There were people opening the gates on the way to the set. 

You could tell they weren't at full capacity by the number of buses sitting in the parking lot.