Karapiro is a tiny and less-known town.  It has a lake and is not far from Cambridge.  Cambridge is rather upscale and has lots of horse properties.  I had reserved a cottage on a horse ranch outside of Karipiro.

We could see for miles outside our door.  And it had a very friendly cat, Toby.  Most people go to the town of Matamata to do Hobbiton because it is where all the tourists go, just… because.  Heck, I don’t know why they go to Matamata – lots of motels, shops, and cafes I guess.  I promised Fred that he could see Hobbiton.  We splurged on the Evening Banquet Tour.  But we had an entire day to fill before then.

I had hoped to drive up to the local kayak place and get a couple of kayaks, but it was not to be – even after showing up 2 times. (Ironically, the couple next to us at the feast that night rented paddle-boards on the spur-of-the-moment from the same guy with no problems). The winery on tap that day had decided to change from weekend tastings to appointment only.  Bummer.

We headed through the town of Tirau with all its corrugated signboards and buildings.  Then to Pataruru and stopped at Over the Moon Dairy for cheese tasting.  Unlike Mercer cheese, you don’t need to be coy – just ask to taste some cheese.  They have a special chilled room and 6 cheeses for tasting. These are mostly semi-soft cheeses like Brie. The Tomme (buffalo and goats milk cheese) is to die for! Fred loved the triple-cream Brie!

We went on a short walk nearby.  It’s called the Blue Springs at Te Waihou Walkway.  We started from the top, closer to the springs and walked along the river.  It was full of some sort of seaweed that thrived in the blue waters.  It was very pretty and we found some geocaches there.

Then we had lunch at the Lily Pad Cafe and enjoyed it very much.  The cafe is located next to a garden art studio and much of their work is displayed in the gardens around the open-air cafe.

On the return to our cottage, we stopped by Lake Karapiro and crossed the one-way dam road, stopping to enjoy the lake views.

That night, we drove the back road to Hobbiton.  It’s located on private land you have to take a shuttle bus in.

We were given plenty of time for photos.  Even though I am not a LOTR fan, I enjoyed the gardens and attention to detail.  Our guide often spoke about how Peter Jackson was a stickler for detail, even having the crew repaint the leaves of a fake tree because they were the wrong color of green!  The Hobbit Holes are in two sizes to give the illusion of the actor appearing before it the appropriate size.  There are no “insides” to the holes but one, and that only went as far as the entryway.

At the end of the go-round of Hobbiton, we entered the Green Dragon and had our feast – a HUGE feast!  Things were a bit chaotic, but I think it was supposed to be in fitting in with the way Hobbits are supposed to eat.

I’ll end this with one more comment about New Zealand cheese – they don’t do cream cheese very well.  It’s very flat tasting and doesn’t have the tang it does in the states. Even the cheesecake I got at the Hobbiton feast was “off”.  I should have known better from earlier experiences on previous trips.

The Adventure Continues>>>

<<–Apples in the tree in the backyard of our cottage

Trees hanging onto the edge of the cliff along the Blue Springs Walkway–>>

The Adventure Continues>>>