Adventures: April 2009

On Saturday morning we got up early and drove back to Wellington.

Tower in Auckland early in the morning.
Our first stop on the way was the area where part of Lord of the Rings was filmed. The Hobbit village was filmed on a farm on the North Island of New Zealand. We did not have the time to take the three hour tour so we could not see the Hobbit huts. We did drive to the visitor's center and took these pictures.

Hobbitland

Elizabeth at farm where portions of Lord of the Rings was filmed.

Hobbiton movie set for Lord of the Rings.

As we drove through the countryside we passed through cute little towns with statues and wood carvings and even a sculptured kiwi bird, the only one we saw.

Jay and a Kiwi.

Cute town on the North Island. Note the hanging flower baskets.

Wood carvings in Tokoroa

There is a beautiful huge lake that is a volcanic crater about in the middle of the North Island. It is Lake Taupo and is beautiful and huge.

Lake Taupo

Huka Falls was our next stop on the way down to Wellington.

Oldroyds at Huka Falls.

Huka Falls

Huka Falls.

Huka Falls

After Huka Falls and Lake Taupo we climbed to the high desert part of the North Island. This was a beautiful mountain we saw as we drove through the high desert.

Mountain in desert highlands of North Island

WELLINGTON
We arrived in Wellington at 7 pm. Our hotel was right downtown. The next morning was Sunday. We found the church in Lower Hutt, right outside of Wellington. This is the building my father built when the family was serving a labor mission in Australia and New Zealand. I never lived here since I went home to attend BYU before they went to New Zealand.

Lower Hutt chapel built by Arthur T. Allen

Elizabeth outside chapel built by her father.

In the afternoon we rode the cable car to the top of the mountain, then took a tour around the Wellington area. One of the interesting things we learned was that the Lord of the Rings was filmed on the North Island and the world premier of the movie was held in Wellington.

Cable car.

Jay on the cable car in Wellington.

Cable car ride in Wellington.

View of Wellington from top of cable car.

Beehive and Parliament buildings in Wellington.

Rose garden in Botannical Gardens. Wellington

Forest in Lord of the Rings. Filmed in Wellington.

View of Wellington from Mt. Victoria.

Monday we flew back to Sydney.

We were picked up outside our hotel for the bus trip to the Bay of Islands, a half day bus ride. It took about 5 hours. We stopped once for morning tea. The countryside was beautiful and green with many ferns dotting the landscape. At one point we passed a pasture full of red sheep. The farmer had dyed the sheep to identify them. Upon our arrival at the Bay at Islands we visited the Treaty Grounds, then went on a cruise of the Bay and the Islands which included the Hole in the Rock. Then we were back on the bus at 4:30 pm and off to Auckland arriving around 8 pm. It was a long day.

Green New Zealand countryside on the way to Bay of Islands.

Our bus.

Jay was tired. It was an early morning for us.

Many ferns dot the landscape in New Zealand.

We visited the Treaty grounds where the Maoris and the English signed the treaty that basically set up the New Zealand Constitution. Our guide was decked out in his Maori dress and was very nice and humble.

Guide for the Treaty Grounds

Maori Treaty House

Jay in front of Maori Treaty House.

View of bay from the treaty grounds.

View of bay through flowers on Treaty Grounds.

Treaty House and Govenor's residence.

English gardens around Treaty House.

Guide demonstrating the Haka face.

Maori canoe

Maori Canoe

After the tour of the Treaty Grounds we took a cruise around the Bay of Islands and went to the Hole in the Rock. When the seas are calm the cruise boat can go right through the Hole. However, today was not the case. On the way to the Hole in the Rock we saw a group of dolphins.