There and back again (photo heavy)

 We're back! NZ was just divine, and we definitely want to go back and explore more.
The good ship Noordam took us from Auckland to Tauronga, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Akaroa, Port Chalmers, Dunedin, into Fjordlands National Park, and back home via Hobart.
One of my highlights was a visit to Hobbitton, Peter Jackson's film set for "The Hobbit" and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The weather that day was gorgeous, which made the visit even better. Also, there were not that many people around, so I could get some good, people-free photos of hobbit holes, hobbit gardens, etc. I

got quite excited already when the landscape started looking like the Shire! There were about 40 Hobbit holes to inspect, although only a few were actually places you could enter. As in very movie, it's mostly make-believe. Still, everything was just as I remembered it from the movie. Luckily we had a guide whose memory for LOR was phenomenal, so she knew the significance of every location and had many quotes from the books. The gardens were just cute, with lots of props like the cheese stand and jam jars, scarecrow and giant pumpkin. The setting is just amazing, beautiful green hills, big trees and a lovely lake. The

 Green Dragon pub is situated on the lake, just gorgeous, but for some reason or other, I never made it inside before we had to start our journey back to Tauronga! I'll just have to go back one day...
The other highlight was the day we spent in Fjordland National Park, visiting Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, and best of all, Milford Sound. Again, we were so lucky with the weather (our host on board said this was her fourth time in the park and the first time she had a sunny day).
There are no words to describe the beauty of this area, even the photos can't do it justice. It has to be experienced. The wildlife is not exactly abundant, but there are fur seals, penguins, little Hector's dolphins, and the occasional albatross. The waterfalls are stunning, I must have photographed them at least a hundred times! (Blogger is playing up now, so I'll finish this). All in all, we had a lovely time in NZ and one day soon we'll be back. Oh, and I took Sherman along, well, a likeness of Sherman, a bag in which I kept some crocheting. And the cocktail, well,one of many...