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After leaving Hobbiton, our tour guide said that if we didn't have any delays, we could make a quick stop to view the local bees and taste New Zealand Manuka honey or try one of their delicious ice-creams before we headed back to Tauranga port. We got there shortly after 5 PM, thirty minutes before closing time.
We toured the live honey bee display, tasted some honey, and had an ice cream cone.
Mossop’s is a family business that has been producing and packaging top quality honeys for over 70 years.
Mossop’s Honey is delicious liquid gold produced from the nectar of flowers within
the beautiful South Pacific setting of New Zealand’s native bush and pasture lands with its crystal clear lakes, rivers and oceans, and snow capped mountains often forming a clean, green picturesque back drop for the beehives.
Returning to Port
We headed back along the inner harbor past the local fishing boats, over the Harbor bridge to the Port of Tauranga. Since it was after 6 PM when we returned, we didn't go to dinner in the main dining room, but decided to have pizza in Alfredo's Pizzeria.
Journey with us from Tauranga and experience the real Middle-earth™ at the Hobbiton™ Movie Set, where, in the heart of the Waikato region, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire™, as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
click images to enlarge
As we mentioned in our last post, we had pre-booked a six hour tour with Zealandier Tours to the Hobbiton™ Movie Set. After departing McLaren Falls Park, we then climbed up to over 1000 feet to cross the Kaimai Mountain Range, which divides the Bay of Plenty coastal region from the Waikato district, the main dairy farming area of New Zealand.
We soon arrived at Hobbiton™; the movie set location for Lord of The Rings and associated films, near the town of Matamata.
Upon arriving at our destination, our guide told us that we had time for some lunch and a restroom break before meeting him at the ticket entrance before 2 PM.
He went to purchase our tickets and we decided to eat at The Shire's Rest™ Cafe . The lamb wrap was very good. You can eat inside or in the picnic area nearby. There is also a gift shop and restroom facilities, which we highly recommend you visit before your two hour tour begins.
Movie Set Tour
The tour is very organized. You line up by time and check in with the guides. They then escort you to a waiting motor coach which will take you to the entrance of the Shire. During the bus ride to the entrance, several short videos are played, the first of which is a welcome from Sir Peter Jackson, whose team discovered the Alexander farm in 1998 while scouting for a filming location. They were looking for iconic rolling hills of New Zealand. If you watch our short video above, approaching the movie set, you'll soon understand why he fell in love with this location.
Wonders of the Shire
For the next two hours, we wandered around the set, escorted by our guide, who showed us the intricate detailing, pointing out the most famous locations and explained how the movie magic was made.
We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this iconic movie set in its full glory; from wandering the rambling paths of The Shire, to seeing the submerged Hobbit Holes™ that litter the rolling hillsides.
Green Dragon Inn Refreshments
After being taken around the 12 acre set, past Hobbit Holes and the Mill, the tour continues inside the world-famous Green Dragon™ Inn, where where we could sample their exclusive, specially brewed beverages (a local shire ale, cider or ginger beer) to conclude our own Middle-earth adventure.
These images are just a sampling from our visit to Hobbiton. Be sure to view our entire album and bring back memories from your favorite Hobbit movie. No visit to New Zealand would be complete without touring the movie set. It is fun for young and old.
Note: While the Movie Set is not very wheelchair friendly, they do have options available for those who may not be able to complete the walking tour. For more information visit the Hobbiton Movie Set website.
Our sixth day of the cruise began with a leisurely breakfast, as we wouldn't be arriving in our next port of call, Tauranga, New Zealand, until approximately 10 AM. We had pre-booked a six hour tour with Zealandier Tours to the Hobbiton™ Movie Set.
Once the ship was cleared, we made our way to the gangway and exited the ship. The tour company had provided detailed instructions on where to meet them. They were waiting under the flag pole just beyond the gates to the port area. As they had promised, our names were listed on a sign there, and after showing our confirmation, we were directed to our tour guide.
After a short wait for the rest of our group's arrival, we boarded a mini-bus and our tour was
underway. Departing Tauranga; we first crossed the harbour bridge, which offers great views of the Mount, 232m high and marking the entrance to the harbour of Tauranga.
Just ten minutes from the port we arrived at our first stop of our tour, McLaren Falls Park, which abounds with a diverse range of tree species & bird-life. One of the highlights of the park is the waterfall track where you can see glow worms after dusk. We enjoyed a short, easy stroll to the picturesque waterfall. It would be awesome to see the glow worms on either side of the track, but during daylight, they weren't visible.
If so, this cruise diary is for you. It includes ideas for things to do pre-cruise, since we always suggest arriving a couple days prior to your cruise embarkation, as well as day by day journal of our voyage.
How it Began
While onboard Sapphire Princess last January, we looked at cruises for 2019. Princess Cruises was still celebrating their 50th Anniversary with a sale which included onboard credits. We looked at several possible cruises, but hadn't made up our mind.
Our table mates were from Australia, which got us talking about traveling to that part of the world. In addition, New Zealand is one of the hot destinations for 2019. We try to stay current with travel trends so that we can advise our clients based on personal experiences. Also, Majestic Princess is Princess Cruises newest Royal-class ship, which entered service in 2017.
Majestic Princess - Sydney R/T
We showed out mates the itinerary we were looking at, and they agreed with us that it would be a fabulous cruise, so we took advantage of the onboard booking incentives. Ironically, the agent that had booked our Southeast Asia cruise was the Next Cruise Specialist onboard. She was so excited to be planning our next cruise as well.
As usual, we arrived a day early so that we can get acclimated to the time change and avoid departure day anxiety should flights be delayed. Our pre-cruise stay was at Intercontinental Hotel Sydney which overlooks the harbour.
Bookmark this page - we will be adding day by day reviews as well as links to our photo albums. Be sure to follow us on our other social media accounts during the cruise for live posts.
