I have been to.... New Zealand (and Australia)

 This is actually our fourth attempt to go to New Zealand, two trips were cancelled due to covid and the third when my wife had cancer. So, fourth time lucky. The previous three trips were all road trips but this time we went for a cruise as when we costed up the hotels etc they had become astonishingly expensive and a cruise was actually cheaper. A bonus was it also went to Tasmania and Melbourne, which I've never visited before and were 'on the list' - so cruise it was.

Cruises have pluses and minuses - you can get to go to some otherwise very inaccessible places, but you have little control over your itinerary apart from what you can cram into the various port stops. As ever, I'll try and cover stuff vaguely gaming relating.

First stop was Auckland. We had a few days here to sort out heads out after three days travelling to get there (Wednesday morning to Friday evening, albeit including a 13 hour time difference). There was a big summer music, flood and drink festival near our hotel, which was great fun.

It was also the Chinese New Year, which was also great fun.

There is only really one thing to do in Auckland though isn't there? We just had to go to Hobbiton.

And it was just fabulous. An awful lot of stuff packed into a tiny area  - the hobbit holes were rebuilt and extended after the site was cleared after filming.

It was just exquisite.

Real honey in these jars, although some of it dated from the original film....

'The Shire' I can see why Peter jackson picked this location.

Bag End.

Bilbos pipe and Gandalfs letter.

A real highlight was the inside of a hobbit hole.

My attractive assistant models the master bedroom.

I might have spent a bit of time rummaging around for 'the one ring' in the study.

And a well stocked larder.

And kitchen.

The Green Dragon! We had a pint here, but sadly Aragorn wasn't lurking in the corner.

Copious supplies of beer.

The mill. iirc Gandalf drove his wagon over the bridge here.

There were a few warry things in Auckland too, like these old Victorian muzzle loaders. I was surprised to see the iron work was done in New Zealand. 

Many of the settlements featured signal masts, like this one in the middle of Auckland.

And here is another 'Flagstaff Hill' in Russell up in the north of New Zealand, the scene of heavy fighting during the Maori Wars. The peace treaty was signed just across the bay from here.

View from the top. It was a hot and steep climb. I can't imagine fighting over this when it was just bush. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed across the bay, and the anniversary of the treaty celebrations were due to take place the following week when we were there. 

Napier on South Island had loads of fabulous Art Deco buildings, and they have a big 1920s festival each year. You can do trips in vintage 1920s and 30s cars and there were quite a few vintage cars around the town, 1920s clothes shops etc. 

And further south..... the Misty Mountains. The Southern Alps were a really long drive from the coast, but having come all this way it would have been daft to miss them.

This mountain valley was used to film the area around Helms Deep, Edoras and the Plains of Rohan. Helms Deep was tucked away just to left of that bend in the river. The photos don't really do it justice, as the mountains are spectacular.

This rather unpromising mound (it is much bigger when you walk up it) is the rocky outcrop the Edoras set was built on. Most of the Riders of Rohan were recruited locally and the majority of the riders were women.

The Lord of the Rings bus even managed to park facing the mountain matching its logo.

We go to muck around with Swords, 'Narsil' et al.

And flags! It was very, very windy in the valley, which is good for flags.

Further south we went to see the seals on the Otago peninsular. They are very unafraid of humans, but are a  bit bitey, so you don't want to get too close.

We did get to ride in these cool eight wheel ATVs though. 

And the head of the peninsular was studded with these old gun emplacements. In case the Japanese invaded.

We rounded off New Zealand sailing the jaw dropping scenery of Milford Sound (and Doubtful and Dusky Sounds, one of the benefits of being on a small cruise ship).

We were incredibly luck with the weather as it was blazing sunshine. The rainfall here is normally measured in metres per year.

A few days later we got to Tasmania. Hobart with Mount Wellington towering above it.

And here is the top of Mount Wellington. It was a bit over 4000 feet, but like 'Edoras' incredibly windy. 

There were quite a few square riggers down in the harbour. Hanging around after the Hobart to Auckland race.

And a few miles from Hobart, was Richmond, the original settlement of Tasmania, which turned out to have  a fabulous model village! I do like a model village. This one showed Hobart and Richmond in the early days of colonial settlement. 

The harbour.

Me for scale.

Outlaws ambush a stagecoach out in the bush. The figures are 1/16th scale and hand made from clay. 

Richmond high street.

Macquarie Street in Hobart. These buildings are still there.

But the real top treat in Tasmania was Dewey the Wombat.

Another square rigger. This time moored in Eden on the southeast coast of Australia. A few days after this photo, the Chinese Navy decided to conduct live fire exercise off the coast here.

We rounded off with a few days in Sydney. This time, among other things, we did the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk which had spectacular views of the coastline. There was a heavy swell from a previous storm so most of the beaches were very restricted for swimming, but we found a delightful cove where it was OK and managed a dip in the Pacific.

That was a great break and I really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings things, the model village in Richmond was a bonus.