New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3: Visiting Hobbiton, Lake Rotorua and Eat Streat in Rotorua

On day 3 of our New Zealand Travel Itinerary, we left Hamilton and headed to our first major attraction of this trip – Hobbiton! Yes, the movie set of the Lord of the Rings!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3 – Visiting Hobbiton Movie Set of The Lord of the Rings

2bearbear at Hobbiton Movie Set Tour in New Zealand!

We’ve actually written our full experience of our visit to Hobbiton Movie Set of the Lord of the Rings in our earlier post. Hence, we’ll be going through chronologically, what happened on day 3 of our travels in New Zealand…

Views of the beautiful rolling hills from The Shire's Rest at the Hobbiton — Views of the beautiful rolling hills from The Shire’s Rest at the Hobbiton

The drive from Hamilton to Hobbiton was actually quite uneventful…that is, until you’re close to Hobbiton itself. This is because, you’ll start to see the famous “rolling hills” that sets the scene of The Lord of the Rings apart. Having seen it in person, we’ve got to say that Peter Jackson does have an eye for not only details, but also the cinematic feel that he is pursuing…

The Shire's Rest - a restaurant and souvenir shop at the start of the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour — The Shire’s Rest – a restaurant and souvenir shop at the start of the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

After getting our tickets, we had a flat white ($5.50) at The Shire’s Rest (Restaurant/Cafe at Hobbiton) before boarding our bus at 940am. Here, we were able to enjoy the views of the “rolling hills” while sipping on our cuppa – a perfect start to the visit to the Middle Earth…

Having a Flat White from The Shire's Rest Cafe Hobbiton — Having a Flat White from The Shire’s Rest Cafe Hobbiton

Hobbiton Tour Bus bring us to the entrance of The Shire

Keelan was our very humorous guide that led our group this time. Not only so, he was very informative as well. For instance, we learnt that the Lord of the Rings set that is Hobbiton today, was actually built for a second time for the second trilogy – The Hobbits. The first set from 1999 was destroyed after the first trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. However, Alexander Farm, owner of the “rolling hills” came up with an idea to make this set a permanent one during the second trilogy (The Hobbits) and thus a joint venture was set up. Great news for Alexander Farm and also good news for fans of The Lord of the Rings…

First glance of the Shire of the Hobbiton Movie Set

Because the entire set was rebuilt (except for the steps in front of Bilbo’s house), Peter Jackson and team had to put in additional effort to make it seemed as though the set “never left”. Along the way, Keeland shared with us how the tree above Bilbo Baggin’s house, had to be carefully reconstructed…from scratch!

Mandatory photo with a Hobbit Hole before reaching Bilbo Baggin's Hobbit Hole in the Shire, Hobbiton — Mandatory photo with a Hobbit Hole before reaching Bilbo Baggin’s Hobbit Hole in the Shire, Hobbiton

Home of Bilbo Baggins at the Shire of Hobbiton in New Zealand - No Admittance except on party business — Home of Bilbo Baggins at the Shire of Hobbiton in New Zealand – No Admittance except on party business

You’ll also hear about the “behind-the-scenes” takes that made it into the film. For instance, remember the iconic scene where Gandalf entered into Bilbo Baggins’ house and hit his head? It was actually not part of the script but Ian Mckellen continued to remain in character and this part of the film actually made it to the big screens…

Thank the Lord that we had a perfect day at Hobbiton. The sun was out and we managed to get some excellent pictures that day. After the tour, we went to the Green Dragon Pub where we were treated to the complimentary Amber Ale which was pretty good. You can choose from the selection of ginger beer, stout, coffee/tea. This time, we also bough the recommended beef and ale pie for $6 – which you have to try as well if you’re at Hobbiton…

Green Dragon Inn at the Shire inside Hobbiton New Zealand

Amber Ale at The Green Dragon Inn Hobbiton, The Shire

Beef and Ale Pie ($6) + Amber Ale at The Green Dragon Inn Hobbiton, The Shire

Authentic decorations inside the Green Dragon Inn at the Shire of Hobbiton in New Zealand

The entire tour took about 2 hours and ended at 1130. Overall, we found the Hobbiton Movie Set tour of the Lord of the Rings to be very well organised and informative. Loved the spill on the scenes that made it to the big screen. Story-telling by Keelan was perfect and vivid. It was as though we had entered into the scene that he was describing all the time. Definitely worth the $89 for the tickets to Hobbiton!

Donut and Cronut ($6 each) with Long Black Coffee ($4) from The Shire's Rest Cafe Hobbiton New Zealand — Donut and Cronut ($6 each) with Long Black Coffee ($4) from The Shire’s Rest Cafe Hobbiton New Zealand

Map of the Shire from the Hobbiton Brochure

Ordering at The Shire's Cafe Hobbiton — Ordering at The Shire’s Cafe Hobbiton

Lord of the Rings, Ring at The Shire’s Rest Hobbiton

Back at The Shire’s Rest, we had a Cronut, a Custard Donut ($6 each) and a long black ($4). You can skip the donut but the cronut was not too bad. We also visited the souvenir shop. Originally we wanted to buy the Ring itself but since it had some wierd curse/inscription on it, we decided to give it a miss this time. Soon, it was onwards to Rotorua!

Lake Rotorua enroute from Hamilton to Rotorua

Enroute, we stopped by Lake Rotorua, which was super windy that day! The waters were so choppy but the seagulls seemed to enjoy gliding in the wind without the need to flap their wings. Thereafter, we went to the nearby Government Gardens of Rotorua – a public park in the vicinity.

2bearbear at Rotorua Museum (former Bath House) of Government Gardens Rotorua

Entering into the Government Gardens of Rotorua New Zealand

Beautiful structures at Government Gardens Rotorua New Zealand

Arawa War Memorial Government Gardens Rotorua New Zealand

Here, you’ll find the former Bath Houses that has been converted to the Rotorua Museum today. There are beautiful gardens where you can easily set up a small picnic with your friends. There are also many different lawns for lawn bowling here.

AirBnB at Mahoe Street Rotorua New Zealand

Soon it was time to check in at our AirBnB at Mahoe Street Rotorua. It was a beautiful space and Katheryn, our host was very hospitable. She allowed us to park in front of her garage, allowed us to use her coffee and milk just like it was our own house. She even recommended where we could head to for dinner and drinks. It was also why we decided to drop by Brew Craft Beer Pub at Eat Streat Rotorua this evening…

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3 – Brew Craft Beer Pub

BREW Craft Beer Pub located along Eat Streat in Rotorua

EAT STREAT Rotorua where BREW Craft Beer Pub is located in New Zealand

BREW Craft Beer Pub Rotorua Review , New Zealand

BREW Craft Beer Pub Review Huck Hazy IPA ($10.50) and Raspberry Stout ($9.5)

BREW Craft Beer Pub Review Loaded Fries ($17) with bacon, BBQ sauce, aioli, jalapenos and cheese

This time, we had the Huck Hazy IPA ($10.50) and Raspberry Stout ($9.5) along with loaded fries ($10) at Brew Craft Beer Pub. The Hazy IPA has a hazy gold colour and tasted mildly hoppy with a citrusy flavour – the kind that we enjoy. The loaded fries was jammed packed with incredients such as cheeses, bacon bits and jalapeno. Very spicy but shiok (delicious)! For us, the surprise the raspberry stout that was able to achieve the raspberry-ness within a heavy flavoured stout. Nice!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3 – Kuirau Park Rotorua

Kuirau Park Rotorua Geothermal Foot Bath Review

Heading towards hot spring pools at Kuirau Park in hopes of finding the free foot bath

Free Foot Bath Kuirau Park Rotorua Review

Outdoor free foot bath at Kuirau Park Rotorua NZ

Kate and Tom enjoying the free foot bath at Rotorua Kuirau Park

Kate did a research and found that the Kuirau Park in Rotorua is Kuirau park nearby that has free foot bath! The foot bath at Kuirau Park was recently renovated and spots nice wooden seats that surrounds the foot bath. Temperatures were perfect at 36 degrees as well.

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3 – Lake Rotorua Boardwalk and Lady Jane’s Ice Cream

To round up the evening, we went over to Lake Rotorua to stroll by the boardwalk. However, it was still a little windy. Hence, we sat by the boardwalk for a little while during sunset before visiting Lady Jane’s Ice Cream Parlour…

Sunset at Lake Rotorua Boardwalk New Zealand

It was the queue outside Lady Jane’s Ice Cream Parlour (Rotorua) that prompted us to give it a try this evening…

Long Queue at Lady Janes Ice Cream Parlour Rotorua New Zealand Review

2bearbear at Lady Janes Ice Cream Parlour Rotorua

Maple Walnut and Rum & Raisin Ice Cream from Lady Janes Ice Cream Parlour Rotorua New Zealand

This time, we ordered the Maple Walnut and Rum Raisin flavours along with a standard cone at $5.7. If you prefer, you can also choose the premium waffle cone for $2 more. Both the ice cream flavours were superb. The maple walnut flavour was creamy and had chunky walnuts while the Rum Raisin had large flavourful raisins. If you’re in the vicinity, definitely stop by Lady Jane’s for a scoop or two!

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Stay tuned as we head to day 4 of our travels in New Zealand North Island as we visit yet another iconic attraction – Mud Spa of Hell’s Gate Rotorua!

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New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 1: Flying SQ Business Class and Visiting the New SilverKris Lounge!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 2: Arriving in Auckland and Hanging out in Hamilton

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 3: Visiting Hobbiton, Lake Rotorua and Eat Streat in Rotorua

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 4: Mud Spa at Hell’s Gate Rotorua, Huka Falls, Dixie Browns and Millenium Manuel Hotel Taupo

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 5: Mini Golf, Lake Taupo Maori Cave Carving Cruise, Cornerstone Taphouse and Steaks at Edgewater Restaurant Taupo!

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 6: Mission Estate Winery, Te Awanga Estate, Remutaka Crossing and Hey Day Beer Co Wellington

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 7: Breakfast at Wellington Sea Market, Fork and Brewer Craft Beer, Wellington Museum, Rogue and Vagabond, Shelly Bay Wellywood Sign

New Zealand Travel Itinerary Day 8: Mount Victoria and driving back north to Bulls and Skotel Alpine Resort, Tongariro National Park