Wai-O-Tapu and Rotorua

 Rotorua is built on a volcanic area and so in the local park they have areas block off due to the activity.  When you enter the town there is a distinct smell of sulphur.  I would be afraid to build there for fear that my house would one day collapse.

This is in the center of the park.

About a half hour drive outside of Rotorua is Wai-O-Tapu which means Sacred Water.   It is New Zealand's most colorful and diverse volcanic area.  As you walk around the area there is stunning geothermal activity including mud pools, geysers, craters and pools.

This is the Devil's Home.  This is a collapsed crater where underground acid action has caused the ground to collapse.

Champagne Pool is so hot that it is always steaming.

Look at the steam behind me.  As we walked along the boardwalk the steam was so thick that it was hard to see through it like a thick layer of fog.

In the distance you can see a boardwalk which goes along the edge of the pool.

There are warning signs all over Wai-O-Tapu warning of the temperature of the area.  100 degrees celius is a lot hotter when compared to 100 degree F.

This is one of the mud pool.  It is so hot that the mud is constantly boiling and shooting  mud high up into the air.

Information from the Wai-O-Tapu Pamphlet
Beneath the ground is a system of streams which are heated by magma left over from earlier eruptions.  The water is so hot that it absorbs minerals out of the rocks through which it passes and transports them to the surface as steam where they are ultimately absorbed in the ground.  The so called "rotten egg smell" of geothermal areas is associated with hydrogen sulphide.

December 23, 2012

Angels in Men's Clothing

     The archives was closed again for the Christmas Holidays so Don and I decided to visit the north part of the North Island before returning home in February 2013.  We attended a session at the Hamilton Temple on December 21st and then on Saturday the 22nd we traveled to the filming site for the Peter Jackson Hobbit movie called Hobbiton.  It rained a little going there so Don turned on the lights but then it got sunny and when we stopped we forgot to turn off the lights.  When we returned from the tour 2 hours later the battery was dead.  We were in New Zealand with no road assistance card and no towns were even close to the area.  We were fortunate that they actually had jumper cables there at the Shire Cafe and within a half hour we were on the road again.
     Then on Christmas Even we were in a small town of Coromandel.  We missed the turn to the Petrol Station and had to turn around on a road with high grass on each side.  We thought we were driving on grass but the grass actually covered a deep ditch.  We were stuck and on Christmas Eve in a small town we were not likely to get help.  But within a couple of minutes a lady drove by and stopped and said,  "I have to take my daughter to work but I will be back and get my husband to help."  She returned within 15 minutes and they pulled us out and we were on the road again.  When we offered to pay they refused and told us to just pass it on.
     Because the battery was the original battery for the car it again went out in Kerikeri but again we were helped within a couple of minutes when two mechanics were walking to their cars in the parking lot and they also had jumper cables and jumped the car again.  Luckily we were in a town that had a garage where we could purchase a new battery.
     In each of these three incidents we were in the right place with the right people to get the help we needed.  I feel the Lord was watching over us and protecting us with these special people.

December 22, 2012

Green Dragon

The Green Dragon is the bar used in the film.  It is located near the houses and over a bridge.  The bridge was only to be used during filming but when they decided to have tours they had to re-enforce the bridge.

This is the bridge leading to the Green Dragon.

This is Don ordering his complimentary drink.

This is a view of the houses that are built in the hills.

This is Sam's house.  At the end of Lord of the Rings Sam gets married and he walks to this house to meet his wife and two children.  The child that he is holding in the movie is actually his child and the actress is actually holding her child.

December 22, 2012

History of the movie site:

In September 1998 Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema discovered the Alexander farm during an aerial search for suitable film sites.  The fantastic views and rolling countryside of the Alexander farm closely resembled that of Middle Earth as described by Tolkien.  The farm was perfect.  The rolling farmland was untouched by 20th century clutter such as roads, buildings or power lines.  Construction started in March 1999. 

Hobbiton

Peter Jackson set up this site for the filming of the Lord of the Rings and again for the filming of  The Hobbit.  The place is outside of Matamata, New Zealand  on a farm own and currently operated by the Alexander Family.

This is the Shire Rest which is located outside of Hobbiton where  you buy your tickets and also the place where you catch the bus. 

The hobbit houses are only fascades and the inside filming is done in a  studio.

There are numerous houses located all over the hills.

December 22, 2012

Hobbit

Air New Zealand decorated a Boeing 777 plane with pictures depicting the movie of the Hobbit.  It landed at Wellington Airport which was quite a feat in that the runway is very short and usually large planes are not allowed.

Wellington became the Middle of Middle Earth for a few weeks leading up to the premier of the film.

The activities started on Saturday afternoon with a Hobbit Artisan Market at the park next to Te Papa Museum.

At the end of Courtenay Place near the Embassy Theater they placed a mural surrounding the building.

The red carpet went from Taranaki Street 500 meters down to the Embassy Theater.  Peter Jackson was there along with some of the stars such as Elijah Woods, Kate Blanchet, the twin Hobbits, and many of the dwarfs who are starring in the movie.  They are so made up in the movie that it was hard to recognize which star played which character.

Three nights before the premier they played that three Lord of the Ring movies outside in the park.

We went to the red carpet around 1:00 p.m. on November 28th and  already all the places next to the red carpet were taken.  We ended up going next to the stage at the end of the red carpet.  There were over 100,000 people who attended.

Kate Blanchet was there with her sons.

Wellington Airport was transformed with the Hobbiton Village surrounding the luggage belt.

Golum was also at the airport to greet the passengers.

November 28, 2012

Thanksgiving

Even though the New Zealanders don't celebrate Thanksgiving the American Senior Couples do.  Twelve of the Senior Couples from the North Island gather at the Institute Building for Thanksgiving which included turkey (cost $85.00), mashed potatoes, green salad and jello salad with the jello from America, rolls, and pumpkin pies (the canned pumpkin was also from the United States).  It was held the day after Thanksgiving which was technically Thanksgiving in the United States.  It is always nice to remember the traditional holidays.

All of our children got together at Kevin and Jeanette's, so we had the opportunity of use Skype to see all of them also celebrating Thanksgiving together.  We are indeed thankful for the 4 wonderful children we have been blessed with and the fantastic spouses they have married.  We are also blessed with 9 super cute grandchildren and look forward to meeting the two youngest (Miles and Bethany) when we return the end of February.

November 22, 2012