Rimutaka Hills - Following the Yellow Brick Road

Driving the Wine Trail to Martinborough takes you through the winding Rimutaka Hills.  I am not an experience driver in mountain ranges, particularly with heavy commercial trucks passing me left and right and tail gating me.  This is the only road in the upper hut to travel to Martinborough.  I looked for alternate routes and there are not any.  I had the pleasure of traveling over the Rimutaka Hills twice.  It gave me courage and you have no where to go except to follow the 'yellow brick road.' 

"The yellow brick road,
a journey into the unknown.
Courage, brains, and a heart.

All we need to do is tap the ruby slippers
to reveal who we truly are. "

Pakuratahi Forest

 

 

The Upper Hut was scenic with the wine trail, Kaitoke National Park and Rimutaka Hills.  The Pakuratahi Forest covers the western side of the Rimutaka ranges north of Upper Hutt and includes lands in the Kaitoke basin as well as the main Pakuratahi catchment. The road into the forest was very rough and had many pot holes.  It was not maintained and the forest had been burned in several areas. On the opposite side of the forest was a valley of rolling hills and pastures. Most parts of the forest are isolated, exposed to wind and rain and without cellphone coverage.  The road was too damaged for our car to continue so we could not venture very far into the camp ground and hiking areas. 

Silencing Frogs at Frog Pond - Tales from The Shire

 

 

Frog Pond has a lot of frogs and they can be very noisy.  Shots for Lord of the Rings were interrupted due to the noisy frogs.. When filming for the Hobbit was about to commence, the frogs were all relocated. I didn't see that many frogs but it was a hot summer's day which reminds me of an Aesop's fable "The Frogs' Complaint Against the Sun" that explains why we only have one sun.

 

"ONCE UPON A TIME, when the Sun announced his intention to take a wife, the Frogs lifted up their voices in clamor to the sky. Jupiter, disturbed by the noise of their croaking, inquired the cause of their complaint. One of them said, "The Sun, now while he is single, parches up the marsh, and compels us to die miserably in our arid homes. What will be our future condition if he should beget other suns?"

Even though there are over 40 hobbit holes, tourist are only allowed to open one door, but as you would expect there is only dirt and some supporting timbers behind. Every hobbit yard was designed in detail with flower gardens, gates, mail boxes, tools, pottery, wood, and benches.  The doors are an array of different rainbow colors. The hobbit hole doors vary in size according to which actor has to be in the shot, so for example the actor who plays Samwise Gamgee is quite big, so his door was big.  Samwise Gamgee’s hobbit hole is the one with the yellow door.  Peter Jackson was meticulous with the set. Every day he got people to walk up to washing lines to tread a pathway in the long grass, so it looks Like hobbits have been using it. Each log on the piles had to be in the same place, so the set was constantly checked against photos so it looked the same.

The oak tree on top of Bag Ends is fake with thousands of leaves that had to be attached.  At least the leaves don't fall all over Bilbo Baggins Hobbit Hole!

Seatoun Coastal Drive's Blue Horizon

I drove the entire loop of the Seatoun and Miramar coasts.  Seatoun is an eastern suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. It is on the east coast of the Miramar Peninsula.  The coastline was rocky with dark sand against a blue horizon and deep blue sea. For summer, it was not crowded except on the weekends.  Very different from Florida's white sand beaches with people from all over the world.  Quiet, peaceful and serene and the array of blue on blue gave it perfect harmony.

 
The Tide Rises The Tide Falls
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
Along the sea-sands damp and brown
The traveller hastens toward the town,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
Darkness settles on roofs and walls,
But the sea the sea in the darkness calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands,
Efface the footprints in the sands,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.
The morning breaks; the steeds in their stalls
Stamp and neigh, as the hostler calls;
The day returns, but nevermore
Returns the traveller to the shore,
And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Rivendell, Elves and A Swinging Bridge, Kaitoke Regional Park

I hiked the trail at Kaitoke Regional Park where Rivendell was filmed for Lord
of the Rings. There were no elves to be seen among the primeval rainforest, Mirkwood elfish trees, Loudwater River and its swing bridge.  Giant spiders were not visible either but probably hidden in the tree tops spying on me. The river was low and very dry so it was too hot for elves and spiders.
During the Quest for the Lonely Mountain, Thorin Oakenshield and Company stopped off at Rivendell. Rivendell, also known as Imladris, was an Elven outpost in Middle-earth. It is also referred to as "The Last Homely House East of the Sea".  Rivendell was located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Loudwater but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Misty Mountains.  In Lord of the Rings, Arwen carrying Frodo on her horse, outruns the Black Riders to reach Rivendell.  She called upon the river for protection like elves can do and the river Loudwater became galloping horses charging after the Black Riders.

LOTR Rivendell forest, Loudmouth River and water falls.

Pungarehu Loop Surf

Summer time in New Zealand and surf highway 45 is the route to travel.  Surprising there were not that many people on the beach and it was a beautiful sunny day.  Unlike Florida where the beaches are crowded from tourist and vacationers from all the world. People flock to Florida's white sandy beaches.  Pungarehu Loop's beach is dark sand with a lot of shrubs and vegetation.  This was very quiet and basically we had the beach to ourselves.

Opunake Surf - A Spectrum of Sea Colors

 

 

Since I have lived most of my adult life on the coast of Florida, it was only natural that I had to travel the surf highway 45 of New Zealand and take pictures of the gorgeous surf hitting the rocky coastline. It is a spectrum of sea colors.

Mt. Taranaki Rising Above the Clouds

 

 

 

 

 We visited Egmont National Park and hiked the Summit Track on Mt. Taranaki until we were in the clouds and could see at cloud level New Plymouth below.  As typical, it was a rainy and misty day and Mt. Taranaki was surrounded by rain clouds. I think all the mountains in the North Island should be called Misty Mountains Cold because that was what we endeared with every hike.

"Farewell we call to hearth and hall!
Though wind may blow and rain may fall,
We must away, ere break of day
Far over the wood and mountain tall."

Excerpt from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

New Plymouth Centre Coastal Walk

 

 

New Plymouth is a typical coastal town very similar to any you would find in the states.  After dinner, we enjoyed the nice weather and walk the Centre Coastal Walk until sunset.

Martinborough - Splashes of Watercolor and Wine

 

 

 

I drove the New Zealand Wine Trail to Martinborough.  It is located in the Wairarapa region and is a wine village with over 25 boutique vineyards, most within walking distance of the town square. The vineyards are notably famous for making Pinot noir. What was most striking and picturesque was the hills to the east and west as you entered the village. In both directions it was a panorama painting with splashes of warm watercolor mountains and valleys.