I COULDN'T believe it when I finally walked the very ground that many refer to as the Middle Earth. Yes, I had been to the Shire, home of the famed Hobbits of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel and Peter Jackson’s film masterpiece, the Lord of the Rings. Going beyond Auckland and into the other parts of New Zealand’s North Island was magical, exceptional, and ethereal.
Middle Earth: The Hobbiton
June is winter in New Zealand and traveling as early as 7 a.m. at this time of the year meant going through mists and fogs along the highway. We rode to Matamata, a quiet town in the Waikato region.
What used to be a simple farm by the Alexander family was raised into superstar status as travelers from all over the globe find their way to Hobbiton. The Alexanders still run the property as a farm, with cattle and sheep still grazing the area. But what makes this farm now an attraction is the mounds with rounded doors on them, home of the Hobbits. The most special of all these Hobbit-holes is Bag End, where Bilbo and Frodo Baggins live. Every bit of trivia in the tour about how Peter Jackson made his vision become a reality was amazing.
It was in this tour that I met fellow Bacolodnon and UP aluma, Ruby Cruz, the person behind the Negros Farmers Weekend Market, who was traveling with her husband and her sons that time.
Living Earth: Rotorua and its geysers
The trip to Rotorua was exceptional. When we reached an elevated point in the Waikato region, we stopped to marvel at the blanket of clouds covering the plains below. As we went on with our trip through the highlands of the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Reserve, areas where the sun’s rays couldn’t reach were all in white as frost descended on the area. Frost looked like snow but was more of ice deposits formed due to the cold weather, which made the roads slippery then.
Various parts of Rotorua have geothermal activities and we could almost catch a whiff of sulphur mixing in the air. It was in TePuia where we gaped at the fury of the earth as geysers erupted turbulently throughout the day, something that I have not seen before. Mud pools were abundant in this area as well. But more than having a natural phenomenon in its bosom, TePuia also boasts of heritage treasures of the Maori culture.
Under Earth: The Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Another wonder that I experienced for the first time through this trip was seeing the glowworms work their ethereal effect in a pitch black cave. These insects are very uncommon and they only reside in very few areas throughout the planet.
We entered the Waitomo Glowworm caves and saw how these insects, when they become larvae, produce sticky lines to catch other insects for food. It is at this stage when they produce light to attract their prey. As we reached the lower portion of the cave, we boarded a jetty and floated on water inside a dark cave in total silence. No photography of any kind was allowed as light and sound can disrupt these glowworms.
New Zealand is a place that will forever stay in my heart. It gifted me with beautiful experiences in my short trip that I will always treasure.
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Claire Marie Algarme blogs at firsttimetravels.com. Follow her as @firsttimetravel on Twitter and Instagram.