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!!

9th March: Nelson - Helicopter Ride and The One Ring

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 There was a little bit of grumbling among those of us in the first helicopter ride group, at having to leave the hotel at 6:30 am. But not afterwards… we watched the sun come up on the way and it was awesome.

Mount Olympus - stunningly beautiful location, where they see the crebain from Dunland, and Gimli advises Gandalf to go through Moria, and Boromir is teaching Merry and Pippin to fight.

We returned to the hotel for a quick breakfast before visiting the workshop of Jens Hansen, the jeweller who crafted the One Ring. Lots of fabulous jewellery on sale including the ring I tried on (see photos) but way too expensive.

This afternoon I wandered back into the town centre with two of the group, then visited the Cathedral alone - it was strange to not have Maz with me. They had a Troyes labyrinth painted on the floor, so I walked it, which was lovely. Then I wandered back down the Main Street, where I stopped for a drink of juice with another two of the group, before picking up a delicious orange and almond slice from Dhara’s Caffe. I’m going to eat in the hotel, then have a relaxing evening in my room. Another early start tomorrow.

8th March: From North Island to South Island

 A long and gruelling day today. The ferry across the Cook Strait between North Island and South Island was running late, so that was one thing. However, it was nice to spend the crossing in Sarah and Aarthi’s good company. 

South Island has a very different feel to North Island - the part I’ve seen so far (from Picton to Nelson) is very like Austria. On the way to Nelson, where we’re staying for the next two nights, most of the group went kayaking on the Pelorus River, which just didn’t appeal to me. But more waiting around…

We finally reached the hotel in Nelson around 6 (having left the one in Wellington at 7 am). My room is nice, if quirky - it includes a large purple armchair, which is very comfortable, and both a desk and a bath, neither of which luxuries I had in Wellington. So I am content.

Early start tomorrow- I’ll be leaving the hotel at 6:30 am for a helicopter ride “south of Rivendell”.

7th March: Daniel Falconer and Zealandia

This morning, Daniel Falconer, one of Weta’s best concept artists on The Lord of the Rings, came to the hotel to talk to the group. He was just like he is in the DVDs, both informative and entertaining. Afterwards, there were art prints of his to buy, and he signed all of them (and also my map of Middle-Earth that I bought at Weta yesterday. And he doesn’t just sign things - he adds a little illustration - awesome!

After lunch, one of the group, a guy from Finland called Eero, and I went on a guided tour of Zealandia - a  fully fenced eco sanctuary dedicated to protecting rare New Zealand native species, particularly birds and reptiles. We saw many rare NZ birds, and also some tuatara - a rare lizard-like reptile.

Thee evening will be spent attempting to wrangle all my belongings into the suitcase and backpack… ahead of the ferry crossing to South Island tomorrow morning.

6th March: Wellington and Weta

 After breakfast we drove to Mount Victoria on the outskirts of Wellington to re-enact two moments from Fellowship of the Ring. Which was fun!

Then on to the Weta Cave - Weta Workshop’s retail outlet. Some people spent a small fortune and will need to buy extra suitcases to get it all back home, but I managed to keep to two items - the Elven brooch / pendant I had promised myself, and a lovely parchment map of Middle-Earth. 

Then we had lunch at the Roxy Theatre (owned and beautifully restored by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger and Jamie Selkirk). Upstairs were Richard Taylor’s Oscar and some wonderful Thunderbirds models.

Our afternoon behind the scenes tour of Weta was fascinating and frustrating simultaneously. We were split into two groups, and my group did the tour first. The very informative guide showed us and let us handle all kinds of LotR artefacts, from weapons and armour to prosthetics. I saw Theoden’s and Aragorn’s armour, all the original hero swords, and Merry’s Rohirrim helmet. BUT we weren’t allowed to take any photos, because Weta don’t own the licences. I also saw a brilliant miniature of a city from Mortal Engines.

Then the two groups swapped and the tedium began. We were given the “marvellous opportunity” to paint some miniature figures (not LotR, just random figures like the ones David used to collect when he was little. Bor-ing. a) I am no good at it b) I’m simply not interested. Total Waste of an hour and a half. Am planning to deposit mine in the bin in the bedroom…

That’s ungracious! Most folk seemed to enjoy themselves. Just not me…

5th March Mount Doom, Mount Ruapehu and Gollum’s pool

 Another early start. We left Taupo at 8 and travelled up into the Tongariro National Park, where quite a bit of both LotR and Hobbit filming took place. We saw Mount Doom, Mount Ruapehu (slopes of Mordor and Emyn Muil and secret entrance to Erebor. Because the weather was so fine and clear (total rarity) we were able to see the Lonely Mountain in the distance - awesome!

Then we travelled on to the Mangawhero Falls, location of the sequence where Gollum goes fishing in a cold stream, and there was a chance for more cosplaying. I was one of the Sams.

After that, it was a long drive to the bottom of North Island. We arrived in Wellington around 6 pm, and will be staying here till Sunday morning. We visit the Weta Workshop tomorrow!!

4th March: Trollshaw Forest

 An early start - we left Rotorua at 8 am and travelled by coach for hours towards Piopio, the location of Trollshaw Forest (important location in the first The Hobbit movie. The tour was both informative and entertaining and the sun shone on us again - which I am  absolutely *not* taking for granted - the weather here is as unpredictable as Wales or Austria.

At the (inevitable) shop attached to the place, I spotted a rather beautiful letter opener in the form of Sting, so I treated myself.

Although the countryside of the North Island is very beautiful, it is very under-inhabited - isolated farms and widely-scattered little townships. I couldn’t help wondering how the farmers and their families access services like schools, doctors, hospitals, libraries… or even people like plumbers and electricians! I guess they have to be pretty self-reliant.

By the end of the day, having spent (far too) much of it on the coach [yeah, I know, what did I expect of a touring holiday] I am feeling a little like Sam Vimes in one of the Discworld books, complaining of MMBU (miles and miles of bloody Uberwald).

We eventually reached Taupo around 4:30, and I’m in another very posh room in the Taupo Lakeside Hilton. The bathroom has to be seen to be believed! It even has a balcony, so I can cape without having to go downstairs all the time. The lake is beautiful and is the largest inland lake in Australasia.

Emyn Muil and Mount Doom tomorrow.

3rd March Hobbiton in the Shire

 Today was beyond special (apart from the hours of coach travel, which were tedious). The countryside is beautiful  - reminded me a lot of our bit of Wales. We stopped off at a little place called Tinau for lunch, and Hannah’s gluten-free app found a lovely cafe called Enchanted Places, which seemed appropriate…

We dropped our cases at the very posh Novotel in Rotorua (my room is enormous and palatial) then backtracked to Matamata.

We arrived at Hobbiton mid-afternoon, and I burst into tears on the spot when Julie started playing the Fellowship theme in the coach. Oh my! Actually being in Hobbiton was beyond amazing - I was walking around with my hand on my heart and a huge grin on my face. It was a gorgeously sunny afternoon, as you’ve seen from the photos, which showed it at its best. Julie, the tour leader was wonderful at offering to record special moments on our phones - I have a video of running in Bilbo’s footsteps “I’m going on an adventure!”, picking up post from the Bag End mail box, and smoking Bilbo’s pipe (consciously channelling my father). Every hobbit hole was different and the level of detail was (as you might expect) superb.

One highlight for me was visiting on of two hobbit holes on Bagshot Row, which they’ve completely kitted out inside (which opened at the end of 2024). We were able to spend 15 minutes wandering from room to room, capturing all the wonderful details. Which is why there are so many photos. I’m so glad that Maz / Dad has offered to help me make a photo book when I get home, and that I’ll have these blogposts to remind me of the details. 

Then we had dinner in a pavilion behind The Green Dragon, followed by a lantern lit procession (shades of Hucklow, Becky and Arran) up to Bag End and the Party Field, before piling back into the coach and heading back to Rotorua, 

Honestly, it could not have been more wonderful!

2nd March: The Adventure Begins!

I slept really well (not surprisingly) after all the travelling. Then had a quiet and peaceful recovery day, reading The Two Towers and doing a bit of crochet. The buffet breakfast was delicious GF cereal and brownies, plus a selection of fresh fruit - I chose pear, apricot, pineapple, grapes, and (of course) kiwi fruit.

My ankles were still a bit swollen, so I decided to go for a walk. The hotel is in the middle of an industrial park which makes Brackmills look like a corner shop, but there were lots of trees to enjoy. And I felt Much Better afterwards.

We all (about 30 of us) had a welcome meal at 5:30 in a side room of the hotel. I bought some little bits & pieces, and collected my pre-ordered NZ greenstone heart, which is beautiful … and met some lovely people, including two American couples and a Sikh from Hounslow. Hannah and Sean (from Philadelphia) are good friends with a UU minister back home. And Hannah is also doing the bungee jump!

RCT  have given us each a full-colour brochure, which will be a nice souvenir. Off to Hobbiton tomorrow!

27th February - 1st March: I’m Going On An Adventure,

My adventure began after Maz very kindly dropped me off at Heathrow Airport on Friday evening. As usual, we had factored too much time in for delays, so I had a long wait. So I divided my time between reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and people-watching, which at Heathrow always reminds me of Love Actually.

Plane no.1, from London to Singapore, took off on time. I have never been on such an enormous plane - (an Airbus 380) ten seats wide with an upper deck too!

I was really lucky on this first leg - I was sharing a four-seat row with one other person, so there was room to spread out. Never having been on a long haul flight like this, I was fascinated to discover that a small pillow and a blanket are supplied for overnight flights - very civilised. Nor that at a certain point, the entire plane goes into sleep mode - as though the cabin crew were our parents, declaring “lights out”. I slept longer and better than I expected - and I now understand why David and Sarah and Becky and Arran use white noise to soothe the kids to sleep … the rumble of the plane’s engines did the same. And I was able to lie across two seats for part of the night.

After a 13 hour flight, which included two tasty and imaginative GF meals (!), I disembarked at Changi Airport. Which I was not impressed with - yes, it was clean and spacious and had a fabulous coffee shop which Maz would have loved, but I would have traded all that for significantly better signposting and even a shred of understanding of “gluten free” in the food outlets.

I found the Butterfly Garden, but assume they were all asleep. Here’s a Photo of some chrysalises for Sam.

Another long and tedious wait for flight no.2, from Changi to Auckland (10 hours this time, but it felt more like 20!) because a) the plane was full b) I was in the middle of a row of three, in spite of having asked for an aisle seat and c) we were seated below a loud and annoying air conditioner, so I got hardly any sleep.

The entrance to Auckland airport is very attractive (see photo below) but I was *not* impressed at having to queue for two hours (along with seemingly everyone else from several flights) in order to have my hiking boots inspected for cleanliness. Which is part of a new NZ government bio security drive, which I’m all in favour of, but it needs to be better organised and staffed.

The hotel room for tonight and tomorrow is huge and very nice. I had a soaky  bath as soon as I’d checked in, and feel a bit more human. The milk for the tea and coffee  ones in dinky little glass bottles….

It’s now 7:35 pm on Sunday 1st March. Not sure when you’ll get this, but I love you all heaps. The interesting blogposts will start tomorrow evening. Xxxx