I am a 66 year old man. Should I be so excited for my much
anticipated visit to Hobbiton? Screw it, yes I can after all, I am a 66 year
old retired man and can do anything (legal) I want. As an added surprise, it
seems Nonie has also harboured a deep (hidden) desire to visit the Shire.
Day 14, and a visit to the shire does not come cheap and it
requires reservations. I do not remember Gandalf or the dwarfs needing
reservations. I had read that reservations were recommended so made them about 3
weeks out and what I found was scary. There were not many options to choose
from as most of them had already been booked.
We were booked for the 10:45 tour so it was another early
day as we had about a 60 minute drive to get to the visitor centre. No horse
driven carts chauffeured by Hobbits today, just completely full 50 passenger
buses leaving every 10 minutes from the centre.
The day was glorious. The colours, especially the blues and
greens we experienced in New Zealand are different from the blues and greens
that are found in B.C. Can’t provide a definitive reason for this difference
but it really became apparent upon our arrival to Hobbiton.
As we strolled into the shire, we found fresh laundry hung
out to dry and fragrant smoke rising from chimneys which gave us hope that we
were going to meet some hobbits. Perhaps, if lucky, a visiting dwarf in
between quests.
Things looked up when we found the door into Bilbo’s
place slightly ajar but he must have seen us coming and slipped on the ring to
avoid the adulation.
From Bilbo’s place we could see the Green Dragon Inn and the
promise of strong mead to soften our disappointment. Perhaps we might find a
Hobbit or two or a drunken dwarf spoiling for a fight.
On the way to the Inn, attracted by a “For Sale” sign, we
just had to try a Hobbit hole on for size. With a little gymnastics, we had a
fit although the lack of a bathroom became a deal breaker.
More disappointment, as there was not a drop of mead
available at the Green Dragon Inn but the dark and moody Dragon’s Ale was
pretty tasty and dark and moody but not a drunken dwarf in sight.
90 minutes later, it was time to end our visit to the Shire
which was I must admit was slightly tarnished by the distinct shortage of hobbits. Thank heavens for the dark and moody Dragons Ale.
So it was on the bus and back to the visitor centre.
Time for lunch.
Tomorrow it is off to Auckland and our flight to Sydney.
