Next on the agenda was a geek out for Dave when we visited Matamata - the Movie set of Hobbiton (in the Lord of the Rings films). Unfortunately he had to sign a non disclosure agreement upon entering which means he can not say what he saw while visiting :-(. But it was a GREAT experience - We am sure you can figure out why if you think about it!!!! Lets just say that the photos are incredible but we can not upload them online due to the confidentalality agreement.
We can say that the road up to the farm really does look like the shire Peter Jackson showed in the movie.
We then headed up the coast to the Bay of Plenty and spent the evening on the beach and camping in a farm at the top of a hill which had incredible views. This is how life should be...