Neither Jeanine nor I have read or watched the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbits trilogy. At the behest of our kids, who are rabid fans of Tolkien’s works, we included a visit to Hobbiton to our itinerary. I am thankful we did. Even absent context, the place is magically wondrous. The attention to detail and whimsy that can be found everywhere is amazing. Note to kids: These photos are but a tiny sampling of all the photos I shot. We thank you for encouraging us to visit this special place.

After a light snack at the Green Dragon, we drove to Hell’s Gate, a sulfurous geothermal site near Rotorua. It was interesting but not particularly photogenic, and neither one of us was interested in taking the mud baths for which it is best known.

Jeanine learned of a nearby Kiwi bird rescue sanctuary, but we just missed their last tour when we arrived. After reserving a spot for tomorrow, we took a tour of the next-door Agrodome, where we were introduced to 19 species of live sheep, three breeds of sheep herding dogs, watched demonstrations of sheep sheering and the dogs playing (literally running across the backs of all the sheep in the back row) and working (driving sheep into a pen). On a tractor tour of the farm we had a chance to feed the sheep and lamas.

Our day finished with a Mitai Maori Village dinner and cultural experience. We learned about the Indigenous people of the area and witnessed their forms of welcome, celebration, and warfare. I was chosen as Chief of the visitors and had to meet with the local Chief on stage and give a speach on behalf of my tribe (the 200-person audience). Maintaining uninterrupted eye contact was crucial to demonstrate our good will and to prevent the outbreak of hostilities.