Two for the Road

We reluctantly departed our beautiful stay in Hawke’s Bay. We (of course) popped into a couple of vineyards before we left and learnt about the famous Gimblett Gravels appellation which produces some incredible wine due to its ground which used to be a riverbed.  The drainage and heat accumulation from the rocky terrain allows for some fabulous grape growing, and the introduction of varieties that aren’t grown much elsewhere in the country, such as Malbec and Syrah. The best we tried here were Bordeaux style blends from Unison vineyard (a wine Excalibur from the 2021 vintage), as well as a rose that tasted like toffee apples from Paritua (their Stone Paddock 2024). We also went to Trinity Hill which is a quite ‘big business’ feeling vineyard and unfortunately it didn’t live up to promise for us.

We then travelled north to Napier on Monday morning – quite an important morning for some of us. Those who know I spent a year on the USA part of my degree know I was lucky enough to attend Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. Having this New England connection is what made me a New England Patriots fan for the American Football (go Pats!).  I was keen to see their performance in this year’s Superbowl LX. Matt had even agreed to support the Pats instead of the Seattle Seahawks – their opponent in this year’s championship.

Before kick off, we wandered around to see some beautiful art deco architecture in Napier before we settled into The Pavilion sports bar to watch the game.

We acquired some American style pork and chicken sliders and fries and watched the Pats lose pretty comprehensively to the Seahawks.

We then had the consolation of a 4-hour drive to Matamata, where we were due to stay for the next couple of nights. On the way we passed through Tirau, which is a tiny little village, unremarkable except from it’s three very distinctive buildings made from corrugated metal, forming two sheep and a dog.

Matamata is a pretty small town but it’s a frequent stop for visitors to NZ due to its proximity to Hobbiton. Really this place is the reason for our itinerary in the country – we planned our trip around the pilgrimage which is truly Matt’s Mecca. We stayed in a little farm just outside the town, and had the pleasure of meeting the owner’s veritable flock of tropical birds.

We arrived at the Shire’s Rest for a couple for beers before our tour in late afternoon. The trip started with a walk around the movie set which had been demolished since the original Lord of the Rings filming but then rebuilt exactly for the Hobbit trilogy. We wandered around the set, learning about some secrets behind the construction and filming which took place there. The detail and artistry made it such an immersive place and we were even lucky enough to venture into the interior of a dwelling (most are just façade).

We ended our tour at the Green Dragon pub for some dinner before a lantern lit walk to the scene of Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday. In the party field one of our tour guides asked us to think about what had brought us to the tour today. Tolkien believed that every journey creates stories and those stories deserve to be told, and this was part of his motivation for writing The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.

So here we are, telling our story, for our family, our friends and maybe a few strangers, but hopefully, and most importantly for ourselves in the future to read and appreciate the joy, freedom and adventure we had on this journey.

Iris