GFE Stumpes: Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton, NZ (9/16/2025)

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

We checked out of the apartment hotel at 7:00 and took the train from the Britomart Station using our transport cards. At the Puhinui Station we changed to the AirportLink Bus and disembarked at the Domestic terminal of the Auckland Airport.

Instead of a flight, we rented a car, a Kia Sportage

We drove 2.5 hours to the Waitomo Caves, arriving in time
for an 11:40 tour; no photography was allowed until the end

We first walked through the caverns, up and down stairs,
and had the lights turned off in a few instances to see
the Arachnocampa luminosa/New Zealand Glowworms,
like stars in the sky (also no flash!) (KSS)

The second part of the tour was by boat,
in the dark, where we saw thousands
of glowworms, a species of fungus gnat whose
larvae glow through a biochemical reaction;
they create a silk nest with several threads
upon which they put several sticky droplets
of mucus to capture midges to eat (KSS)

The Waitomo Caves boat

We think this sign is for the increasing numbers
of tourists from the People's Republic of China (KSS)

We then drove 1.5 hours to the Hobbiton Movie Set.

Had time for lunch of a lamb Burger
and chips before our 15:00 tour

We also tried a slice of Lolly cake, made with butter,
condensed milk, crushed malt biscuits, and
chopped Fruit Puffs (like marshmallows), then
covered with dessicated coconut

Site for filming The Lord of the Rings, then The Hobbit

The Alexander sheep and cattle ranch was chosen as
the perfect site for The Shire, and Hobbiton was built,
but not to last; after filming The Lord of the Rings, the
movie set was to be torn down and the area restored to
farmland; however, it was only partially torn down
when the Alexander family made a deal to keep
the remainder for visits from the public

For The Hobbit movie, Hobbiton was rebuilt in a more
permanent fashion, although the homes are only façades;
this Hobbit house has a "dormer" window on the left

The Gardener's House

Our guide claimed this chicken was in the movie,
but has now been taxidermised

Vegetable garden

Nicotiana tabacum/Tobacco aka
Pipeweed in The Shire

Most Hobbit homes had round doors (KSS)

Mailboxes

Fisherman's House has fishing poles hanging over
the door, and fish painted on the mailbox

Hobbit house with a fancy door overhang

Beekeeper's House with hives on the hill

Beekeeper's wares

Bakery stand

The Artist's House door opened just enough for posing

The Artist's House detail

We had climbed this hill because there were more
Hobbit Houses, but also for the view which includes the
lake and a large tree that was required for the movie (KSS)

Bilbo's Bag End House; the stone steps and bench
are original to The Lord of the Rings

The tree above Bilbo's house is an oak
that was cut into sections and reassembled
for The Hobbit movie to be smaller/younger
than the tree in The Lord of The Rings; it is
covered with thousands of hand-painted leaves
that tend to bleach out and need replacing