++ a silence i can't ignore ++: ++North New Zealand | Day 05

Day05:Rotorua:

we are from Matamata opal hot springs family park
Hobbiton movie set (22km from opal family park)(NZD294 perperson including waitomo glowwormcaves tour & tepuia)
Redwoods (75km from hobbiton)(free to explore, some tracks needed ticket)
Te puia + dinner @ maori village (fetched by tour bus)(included in package above)
overnite in rotorua: Cosy cottage Thermal holiday park (6.5km from redwoods)(inside motorhome)

F&B of DAY05
breakfast: bread with choc spread & cheese
lunch: we only munch our breakfast bar/chocolate/snacks
dinner: halal dinner package with tepuia & maori village tour
(recap: MMTK (ketua kumpulan as usual) booked the hobbiton movie set tour for a package together with the glowworm caves & also te puia maori village tour & halal buffet dinner for NZD294 per person).
- pilot mon
- copilot wr
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Day 5 is the most awaited day for us because today we got to tour the hobbiton movie set.
YAYYYY!
especially if u love LOTR & The hobbits.
this is the set whr those films were shot.
all those small with round door dwarf houses.
we definitely love it.
MMTK intentionally pick to overnite at matamata (opal hot springs family park) because it is not that far away from the hobbiton movie set, about 22km drive.
and the tour starts as early as 930am, we must not waste any time.

and yep, we successfully arrived before 9am and catched the 1st tour, kiasu liddat.
hahahahah.
the tour starts from the shire's rest cafe (main entrance).
the view was superb lah ofkos, all were as what i mentally imagined. ahhh. love it.
and at the end of the tour, we gotta taste the hobbiton ginger beer (non-alcohol)(rase dia mcm alala ginge ale F&N tuh), sedapppp gila (sampai kami terpakse terbeli sebotol bawak balik)(the hobbiton beer can only be bought here, we cannot get this hobbiton beer from anywhere else, not in other parts of NZ, not in other parts of the world ofkos)(WR beli sampai 5 botol kot)(aku sampai skrg still sayang nak bukak dan minum the beer)

and then, around 75km drive from there, we went to the redwoods. The forest is most well known for the network of superb mountain biking and walking tracks and for the magnificent stand of Californian Coast Redwoods. ni pon cantik gila, profile-picture-worth views are like everywhere.

after redwoods, we checked into our stays for the nite at Rotorua Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday park, around less than 10km away from the redwoods.
we had an arreangement for a free pickup from the holiday park to the te puia + maori village.

Te Rā Experience

Come face to face with Pōhutu Geyser, jumping mudpools, and live kiwi birds; watch master carvers and weavers at work, and hear our guides share stories passed down from their ancestors.

Explore Te Whakarewarewa, a 60 hectare Geothermal Valley. (pohutu geyser is the top attraction here). Pōhutu (‘poor-hoo-too’) is the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere. She erupts once or twice every hour and sometimes reaches heights of 30 metres (100 feet). Pōhutu means ‘constant splashing’ in Māori.
A Kiwi House & Viewing Enclosure (yg ni biasa sejjah)
Traditional Māori Carving and Weaving (biasa2 sejjah)
Māori Art & History (by the tour guide)
A model Pre-European Māori Village and sacred Marae
Taonga Gallery and Gift Shop (x beli apepe sbb mahal hehe)
traditional 45-minutes cultural performance (KAPA HAKA)(ini teresting gila sbb penari2 dia helokzzzzz ahahahahahha)
Taste an exquisite Māori feast prepared in the traditional Hāngi style. (yg ni dinner buffet yg halal dan sedap)
After dinner you will be invited to board the motorised waka (people mover) for a journey Through the Valley Under Lights. Be awed by the magical evening sights of Te Puia's geothermal valley.

and we were done at around 9pm, send back home by the bus that pickup us before and overnite in the motorhome at rotorua cosy thermal holiday park.
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the pictures:
at the holiday park we parked the nite before hobbiton: matamata (opal hot springs family park

arrived at the hobbiton movie set tourist farm..

at the hobbiton movie set tourist farm

inside the hobbiton movie set farm

inside the hobbiton movie set tourist farm

free ginger beer for all (free flows)

a postcard for myself. i got it by the time this post is written.

the must buy hobbiton ginger beer.

outside the hobbiton movie set farm

the redwoods!

the redwoods. spectacular!

at te puia geothermal park

gila panjang dowhhhh nama tempat ni

the famous pohutu geyser, the star of the show. Pōhutu (‘poor-hoo-too’) is the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere. She erupts once or twice every hour and sometimes reaches heights of 30 metres (100 feet). Pōhutu means ‘constant splashing’ in Māori.

Taste an exquisite Māori feast prepared in the traditional Hangi style. The Hangi prepared meals are accompanied by flavoured meats, chicken, lamb, vegetables and salads.