Day 27: Not an Ordinary Day in Hobbiton

After a morning in the Waitomo Glowworm Caves (more later), we continued our tour to Matamata, home of Hobbiton. As a self-proclaimed nerd, I love the LoTR and Hobbit series, so I was super excited to visit the actual movie set, which has now become a permanent attraction.

Story goes that when the Alexanders, owners of the sheep and beef farm that was scouted to be a prime location for the movie, received a knock one day, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Now that's an opportunity you just can't miss!

Fortunately for us, we also happened to visit when Frodo Baggins himself, aka Elijah Woods, was also on set filming a piece for New Zealand Air. Their safety and travel videos are quite unique and entertaining; so I'll have to fly NZAir again just to see this new one. Can you find him in this photo? :)

But not to overshadow our morning excursion, we trekked deep into the caverns of Waitomo to discover the wondrous bioluminescent glowworms. Who doesn't like things that glow in the dark?!

After a short tour of the caves, which reminded me of visits to Luray with stalactites, stalagmites, and cathedral-like acoustics, we were guided thru the cavern on a magical boat ride. Looking up, the glowworms dotted the ceilings like constellations in the nightsky.