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We drove from Auckland into beautiful Rotorua on the North Island, stopping along the way to visit Hobbiton in the Shire (or Matamata as the present day natives call it).  It was rainy most of the day, and we got to squelch our way through actual Hobbit mud...

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Off we go to Hobbiton where filming of the Shire took place on the Alexander Farm. It was raining..
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Here is Alison feeding sheep with little Hobbits (Rachel and Bridget Alexander...)

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And the Maori Arts and Cultural Center...

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We flew 6500 miles to see Rainbow Trout from Russian River, Calif growing fat in the cold NZ waters.

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And it was *extremely* muddy in places... Plus, there were sheep land mines everywhere...

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And a little Hobbit Gift Shop with actual Hobbit bathrooms.

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and the girls with the Maori warriors, who provided `Peter, Paul and Maori' folk music...

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The baby black sheep at Rainbow Springs Nature Park.

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This is Bilbo's home, Bag End... That is me (Harry) peeking out on the left...

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Next, we continue on to Rotorua with all the geothermal activity...

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Here is Jacqui and May with a non-warrior...

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Off to the Agrodome for the sheep show. Who knew they had so many different kinds of sheep!