Peak Experiences

 For most of us, life is fairly ordinary. And that is its own special miracle. To live our lives, day to day, to experience joy and sorrow, bliss and pain, company and solitude, and to be aware of the sacred nature of each experience, is to live well.

But sometimes, if we are very lucky, we will have a "once in a lifetime" experience, which lifts us out of of our ordinary lives. For the duration of whatever it is, our senses are heightened, and we appreciate everything vividly and with joy.

I have been so blessed to have this happen to me, in the first half of March. As many of my readers will know, I have spent the past two weeks on a Lord of the Rings tour in New Zealand. And it was completely amazing, a fabulous experience which I will look back on with fondness for the rest of my life. I am grateful for so many things:

• The dedication of the tour leaders (Julie on North Island, Josh on South Island) who consistently went the extra mile to make the experience as special and wonderful for us as they could.
• The unexpected fun of re-enacting scenes (complete with props) from the films in the locations they were shot.
• The unbelievably beautiful country that is New Zealand. And we were so very blessed with the weather. At the beginning of the tour, Julie warned us that we could experience "all four seasons in one day". But we had 15 straight days of blue skies and sunshine.
• The deep bonds formed with other members of the Fellowship. It was like Summer School - we came together as strangers, had rich and meaningful experiences together and, when we parted, it felt like a little death.
• The way we singletons (half a dozen out of 39) were folded into the community - everyone was included, no-one was left out.
• Making friendships which I believe will last long-term.
• The joy of "talking Tolkien" morning, noon, and night, with fellow Tolkien enthusiasts.
• Having the courage to do the bungee jump. Standing on the edge of the platform, 141 feet about the River Anduin, I felt a moment of intense fear, then I dove, and it was done, and it was amazing.
• The fun of the two on-coach quizzes - the range and depth of knowledge in the group was amazing.
• The WhatsApp group which one member set up on the first day, on which we all shared our photos.

I consider myself so fortunate to have been able to do this, and it certainly started my retirement with a bang! Whenever I feel down, I will be able to look back on this special time, and feel a warm glow of happiness.

15th March: Last day - Nomad 4WD tours

 My final full day in New Zealand began with Mother’s Day wishes from Becky and David, which touched my heart. 

We were collected from the hotel for the first tour at 8 am. We travelled to more LotR locations around Queenstown and Glenorchy, including Deer Park Heights, above Queenstown, where the Rohan refugees trek round the lake and the warg fight were filmed, and  the site of the Argonath, which were just round a bend in the river from the bungee jump bridge. And I learned something new: Peter Jackson asked Viggo Mortensen’s wife for photos of his father and grandfather, then gave them to the miniatures department to use for inspiration for Isildur and Anarion!

We also visited Paradise, where Beorn’s house was located in The Hobbit movies, and is also where the scene of Boromir with  the Ring, the bursting of the Isengard dam and the tail of the Southern Alps are.

We then returned to Queenstown for lunch before going on a second tour which I didn’t enjoy as much, as it included some very bumpy off road driving, a chance to pan for gold (tedious) near Arrowtown. We also visited Skipper’s Canyon ( part of the New Zealand gold rush in 1862) which had spectacular scenery. But Maz would have hated it - it was a single-track gravel road with a vertiginous drop off on one side.

Back to the hotel by 5:30. After I’ve had a farewell drink with Aarthi and Sarah at 7 (they are leaving at 5 am tomorrow) I’m going to spend the rest of my evening wrangling all my belongings into backpack and suitcase.

It has been a amazingly amazing holiday, which I will never forget, but I will be glad to get home and see you all xxxx

14th March: Fangorn and the Breaking of the Fellowship

Today was an out-and-back day from Queenstown, as we visited the Mavora Lakes area, to see (and in some cases, re-enact) the orc funeral pyre and the calling of Shadowfax at the edge of Fangorn Forest, the tree Frodo hid behind to escape the Uruk hai, and the Silverlode River - Nen Hithoel where Frodo and Sam paddle across the river at the breaking of the Fellowship.

This evening, we have our farewell dinner with Josh at the hotel restaurant. The last full day is tomorrow.

On the journey, the two teams (captained by me and Rebecca, who came second in the individual quiz earlier this week) faced off in a Tolkien trivia quiz, in which the 40 questions for each team had been set by members of the opposing team (2 each). There were some doozies, and I was very glad of the in-depth knowledge of my fellow nerds. Our team won by 5 points - 31 to 26.

All good fun!

13th March: Bungee Jump and Queenstown

 Today was bungee jumping day. As usual, the anticipation was far worse than the reality. Once I was up there and securely strapped into my harness and round my ankles, my fear vanished and I just did it. There was no time to balk - they shepherd you forwards to the edge of the platform and remind you to dive rather than jump, then there is a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown and a gentle push. Judging by the videos, my dive was reasonably graceful.

I wasn’t expecting so much bouncing and swinging around, but it was okay. When the swinging slows, you are told to grab onto the end of a pole being held up by people in a raft below, and they get you into the raft and help you take the harness off. Easy peasy!

The hardest bit was the long flight of steps back up to the viewing platform. I picked up my free tee-shirt and went out to a hero’s welcome. I have to say, it looks much worse than it feels. I’m so glad I’ve done it.

When all six of us had jumped, we drove on to Queenstwon, which will be our base until the end of the tour. Josh took those of us who had opted for it to pay for our 4WD LotR locations tour on Sunday, then we were free to wander and shop. Aarthi, Sarah and I stuck together and I lost my head to the extent of a gorgeous coffee table book full of photos and stories about LotR locations, and a Gandalf tee-shirt.

Enough.

12th March: Lake Pukaki and Pelennor Fields

 Another earlyish start. First stop, Lake Pukaki, to land and lakeshore owned by a total eccentric called Ian, who showed up in a black jacket and trousers with big white stars all over them, and cowboy boots. He proceeded to speak to us about his father’s experiences as a Spitfire pilot in WWII and (a very little) about the use of that part of the lakeside for the Laketown refugees sequence in the filming of The Battle of the Five Armies (3rd Hobbit film). Most peculiar chap.

Then we did some archery, which most of us (including me) were pretty hopeless at.

Then back on the coach to drive down to Twizel for the Pelennor Fields, which was great fun. It is an awesome setting, even if you have to imagine both Minas Tirith and the Mountains of Mordor. We did a re-enactment of the Ride of the Rohirrim, which was great fun. I sent you the video. And of Eowyn killing the Lord of the Nazgûl “I am no man !”

Then down through the Lindis Pass, which reminded me so much of the road that leads to Tal-y-Llyn. We reached Cromwell at around 5, and I’m planning a quiet evening in - the rest of the GF gang are going to a Mexican restaurant, which I don’t fancy.

Tomorrow is the bungee jump, then on to Queenstown, where we’ll be staying for the final three nights of the tour. I’ve discovered that Amarjeet fromout group will be on both the same long flights home. It will be nice to have someone to wait around with!

11th March: Edoras

 This was the one day I was really worried about, as it is very much “weather dependent”. But oh my! The weather was perfect (again) sunny and clear and the views were simply amazing.

And it was such fun! All the women got the chance to pose I. The one size fits (or doesn’t fit) all Eowyn dress, and all of us could stand on the high point with flag and sword. Awesome! And I hadn’t realised it, but they used different part of the same general location (admittedly vast) to film the background to Helm’s Deep.

Later on, we stopped for afternoon tea (yummy ice cream) and I found two cute cuddly kiwis for Alexander and Roman. We also stopped briefly at Lake Pukaki for a wonderful view of Mount Cook, before arriving at the hotel at 5:30. 

Buffet dinner included and as usual, I sat with the GF gang Sarah and her friend Aarthi, and Hannah and her husband Sean. All American and all delightful.

Laketown refugees and Pelennor Fields tomorrow.

10th March: from Nelson to Christchurch

 A long day on the coach today. Too much sitting still and I didn’t think to put compression socks on, which means I now have elephant ankles. Elevation this evening.

But the day was not without bright spots… we did the much-heralded Middle-Earth on-coach quiz, and to my complete astonishment, I won! (Low bar - I got 18 questions right out of a possible 46; they were hard!)

We stopped for lunch and two bathroom breaks along the way, and also to view a seal colony - more than a hundred at a guess - sunning themselves on the rocks.

Tonight we’re at the Suima Airport Hotel in Christchurch, and to my delight, my room has a sliding door to the outside, so no need to trek miles to vape.

Tomorrow: Edoras!!