Matamata

Now, the weekend ahead of us, we were heading inland for a couple of days to stay with our friend Davey in Matamata. This is the small town made famous by the filming of the Hobbit. Apparently, every place of filming was to be taken apart afterwards but the people of Matamata managed to reserve the rights to the shire. For a hefty price of seventy five dollars one can stroll through the green hills of tucked away, circular door, houses. We opted for a much different option on Davey's recommendation.

Wairere Falls, the tallest on the north islands stands 153 meters tall and falls right over the ridge of the Kaimai Mountains. Once again we strapped our hiking boots on and began our uphill climb. It was forty five minutes to the lookout and on our way we climbed stairs, crossed the river and snapped photos of moss covered rocks and trees.

Funny side note: while standing in front of the railing, soar necks from looking up, I placed my water bottle on the railing. I had a brief thought that maybe I shouldn't place it so close to the edge but ignored the passing thought. Not two minutes later, I accidentally knocked it and down it fell. Down, down, down. Because I forgot the water bottle I bought for this trip at home, I bought a similar one in Auckland. So, low and behold, I'm on my third water bottle, each one getting cheaper then the other.

Anyways, another forty five minutes up to the top. This stretch of the trail was almost entirely vertical. We didn't know we signed up for rock climbing. However, what waited for us at the top was well worth the effort. A platform took you right to the drop and from there you could see for miles and miles. Patches of every shade of green broken by fall trees changing color, all under a vast blue sky. And looking down the water fall somehow made you feel so small yet gave you strength at the same time. Imagining water tearing its way to the sea, picking up rocks, finding its way through tiny cracks, falling from the sky, using its power to drive forward and down the fastest and quickest way it knows.

We arrived back to the van in nearly half the time, excited about our effort and the opportunity to marvel at such beauty.

Another sandwich was on the menu so we stopped at a picnic table to build and then devour our tomato, cheese, and avocado sandwiches and then we made our way to Davey's. Davey works and lives on a stud farm. This was a massive farm deticated to breeding, raising, and looking after race horses. We took a quick tour, meeting race winning stallions, saying high to recently weened horses, and admiring the mothers and their young in secluded fields.

Davey and his room mate Sarah took us to their local and we met loads of people and danced into the night. The town has one taxi driver who apparently rips everyone off so when we piled into the van at the end of the night we told him we had no money. He took us home anyways and Davey explained that they had an agreement that on occasion, the taxi man would have to drive him home free of charge because of his outrageous charging in the past... And I'm sure in the future too. It's a far cry from the overpriced-every time-no exceptions taxi drivers in Atlanta.

The next morning we went for breakfast and spent the day reading, doing laundry and walking around admiring horses. We had dinner at the house and drew the night to a close with the incredible Erin Brokovich film.

Sunday we went into Hamilton to explore the botanical gardens. The architecture gardens were stunning. Each section representing a different country, they had Japanese meditation gardens, traditional English gardens, and Indian style verandas to name a few. After being forced to shelter because of the heavy rain, we stopped in for a beer in the town center. The three of us sat outside under a roof of sorts and watched the rain come down, filling the city's streets and soaking its pedestrians.

That evening we headed for Rotorua but we truly enjoyed staying at Davey's for a few nights and his hospitality was warming. When you find yourself wondering where you might end up each day, it's nice to settle down in a home for a couple and unwind.