Activity Summary
Wednesday 7th December - Day 97
Hobbiton movie set tour
Karangahake gorge
Drive to Coromandel
Summary
Hamilton
Honestly we didn’t see much of Hamilton but it didn’t look great. The towns / cities of the north island really haven’t appealed and seem very American with no soul. Won’t be in a hurry to revisit.
Accommodation
Hamilton - Backpackers Central
Number of nights - 1
Price per night per person - £12
Simple hostel but a private room for a reasonable price. Parking round the back made it easy and made for a low stress stopover.
Diary
Perks of being in a hostel is that it is incredibly easy to check out. So after eating in the warmth of a non-outdoor kitchen we made our way over to the Hobbiton movie set for a much anticipated tour. We were told this gets ridiculously busy and booked out well in advance while in Paihia but were fortunate enough in having flexibility and there being some availability when we did panic book.
Both of us agreed we could live in Hobbiton. We loved the place, the hobbit holes and area was so nice and wholesome and the pub was great. The tour started with a short coach ride over to the movie set and a guided walking tour around the hobbit holes and information given around how everything was filmed by Peter Jackson. Unbelievably creative and the detail was unreal. Highlights were Bag End and naturally Samwise the Brave’s hobbit hole - the true hero of LOTR.
As with most touristy things, it would have been so much better in a smaller group but not really possible to get.
The tour ended with a (price included) locally brewed pint at the Green Dragon pub which was amazing, made better by Luke getting away with having a second.
Once back at the main office we sat for some lunch before continuing up to our next area in Coromandel. We tried stopping along the way to Karangahake gorge and have a walk around the old railway there but rock slides had closed out the route so it was a fleeting visit at best.
On our way up to our campsite we stopped at Pak N’Save in Thames for food supplies. This is mentioned simply because of how much we hate the place and especially when in a city / large town. The cities and towns are pretty unappealling in the North Island anyway (soulless, wide roads and almost has an American feel) but the Pak N’Save just seems to attract all the weirdos in one central place. It also doesn’t appear to be cheaper than Countdown, so us being incredibly snobby have vowed not to go back. Judgy prick segment - out.
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