Orakei Korako 'The Hidden Valley' and the Mudcake Cafe'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orakei Korako 'The Hidden Valley'  is a highly active geothermal area most notable for its series of fault-stepped sinter terraces, located in a valley north of Taupo on the banks of the Waikato River. It was an extraordinary spectrum of rainbow colors, gushing geysers, and bubbling mud pools.  My friend Nancy and I ate at the Mudcake Cafe' which has stunning views of the Waikato River. One of the reasons we selected to visit the park because it is located off the beaten track between Taupo and Rotorua and there were very few tourist or local visitors there.  No crowds and the country drive was enjoyable. I felt like this was the real New Zealand.
The park has had some famous visitors. The Hobbit cast including Director Peter Jackson, Actors  Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage and Sir Ian McKellen visited the park during the filming of The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey.

Hobbits like to eat "Cabbage" and so do Rabbits

Hobbits and Rabbits have several things in common and eating cabbage is one of them. Of course J.R.R. Tolkien made a distinction that Hobbits dwell "...in very well-appointed holes (none of your wet, smelly rabbit holes, mind you)."  Hobbits do have the long rabbit looking feet but the similarity ends there.  Hobbits are distantly related to humans and resemble humans in their dress, mannerisms, gardening and so forth.  There was one rabbit from a different childhood tale, Peter Rabbit who ate like a Hobbit!

"Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were--Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter ... Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, who  were good little bunnies, went down  the lane to gather blackberries; But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden, and squeezed under the gate! First he ate some lettuces and some  French beans; and then he ate some radishes And then, feeling rather sick, he  went to look for some parsley. But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr.  McGregor!.."
Quote from "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Helen Potter (1866 - 1943).



Helen Beatrix Potter was born in 1866, in South Kensington, London. She was an English Victorian artist and author of children's stories, creator of such winsome and nattily attired characters as Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, and of course Peter Rabbit. Her father was a wealthy investor. Potter lived a secure childhood at home, with her younger brother Bertram. She wrote "The Tale of Peter Rabbit".

Ah, Sunflowers in Middle Earth's Garden

 

I took these pictures in February 2014 at The Shire from The Hobbit film set.  It is summer time in New Zealand. Sunflowers were planted in most of the gardens and in front of some of the Hobbit holes.  The sun was shinning bright and blue clouds set a picturesque backdrop.  The gardens were fresh, green, and bright with an array of colorful flowers. The sunflowers were the tallest and most appealing with their black eyes.





Ah! Sun-flower

By William Blake 1757–1827 

Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the Sun:

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the travellers journey is done. 

Where the Youth pined away with desire,

And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow: 

Arise from their graves and aspire, 

Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.

"Hanging Out the Wash" at The Shire

Hobbits did not have washing machines and clothes dryers so you will see clothes lines all over The Shire.  Some had a clothes line across the windows or on top of their hobbit dwelling. The top picture shows the clothes hanging on the grassy roof not too far from the chimney. As a small child, my mother washed and hung out the clothes to dry. My grandmother had an old washing machine that you had to place the clothes through a roller to squeeze out the water.  At age 4, my hand got stuck in that roller and I still have a scare on my left hand where the roller ripped off the skin. She dried the clothes by hanging them out on a line in the sun.  It is rare to see that now days.

The Hobbit's Middle-Earth Flower and Vegetable Garden

The Hobbit film set is home to a rustic year-round, working vegetable garden that one would expect to find in middle earth.  I took these pictures in February so these are their summer crops with plenty of sunflowers scattered throughout including colorful varieties of squash, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin and gourds. The Hobbits had an extensive agricultural system in the Shire but were not industrialized. The shire has rambling dirt paths and seasonal flowers, vegetables and fruit trees behind picket fences. There is well water near the garden as well as a working table, crates, woven baskets for gathering crops, saw horses, birdhouses, and make shift poles for supporting plant vines. Every item looked authentic including a scarecrow standing by its lonesome in a field of wildflowers.

This is the older version of the scarecrow from Lord of the Rings with Frodo and Sam in the field.

The Party Tree at The Shire

There was a specially large pavilion, so big that the tree that grew in the field was right inside it, and stood proudly near one end, at the head of the chief table. Lanterns were hung on all its branches." (LOTR, Book I, Chapter I, page 38)

On the right side of the field, there were wild flowers growing on the slope and a beautiful child was picking flowers.  Picking flowers is not permitted but her mother could not resist taking her picture and neither could I. 

"The only brew for the brave and true...comes from the Green Dragon!"

During the Hobbiton Film set tour, we visited the Green Dragon Inn and received free brew.  I tried a glass of apple cider and it was cold, tasty and wonderful after a hot summer 2 hour tour.

 

The Green Dragon Inn was frequented by Hobbits from both Bywater and the neighboring settlement of Hobbiton. The Hobbit Frodo Baggins regularly visited the inn as did his friends Sam Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. Throughout the movie and the book, the inn is referenced to as a "great" place. One such example in when Merry and Pippin refer to the Inn in The Return of the King (film) when they are singing on a table at Edoras. Specifically, they sing "The Green Dragon (song)"

"Oh you can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry,
But you'll never find a beer so brown,

Oh you'll never find a beer so brown,

As the one we drink in our hometown,
As the one we drink in our hometown. You can keep your fancy ales,
You can drink them by the flagon,
But the only brew for the brave and true...
..Comes from the Green Dragon!!"

Bag End - Thorin Oakenshield Lost His Way

Bag End is the home of Bilbo Baggins where Thorin Oakenshield and Company meets Bilbo Baggins to start their journey to Erebor to take back their homeland from Smaug the Dragon.

 

 

[as the dwarves wash and stack the dishes, the door bell rings]
Gandalf: He's here.
[Gandalf opens the door and we see Thorin (Actor Richard Armitage)]
Thorin: Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice.
[Thorin walks in]

Thorin: I wouldn't have found it at  all, had it not been for that mark on the door.



Quote and Screen caps from "The Hobbit There and Back Again"

Bag End was the largest and most luxurious Hobbit home and sits on top of the hill overlooking the Shire with an oak tree growing over its' roof.  I did not understand why Thorin lost his way twice and had to look for the mark on the door.  Gandalf did not communicate with Thorin very well from the beginning. He should have told Thorin to look for the Oak which was visible in all directions. This scene shows the beginning of the contemptuous relationship between the two characters. Gandalf is not being honest of his full intentions and he keeps Thorin at bay and not fully informed. Later in the journey, Gandalf's leaves the party at Mirkwood on their own when they needed his guidance the most. He went back on his word and they were left to face the dragon without him.  Gandalf is to blame for the future events and calamities with the dragon. He is not my favorite character in the book due to his instigation of the journey's purpose, and then leaving the quest, which lead to a chain of events that eventually ended in the deaths of Thorin and his nephews. Gandalf has been missing for a large part of the book and yet when he returns, he has chosen not to return to the dwarves, who he encouraged and aided up to this point, but sides with Bard and the Elven king for the treasure. I could write a paper about the greed from dwarves, man and elves and the theme of betrayal but I'll leave that for another topic.  Thorin Oakenshield did lose his way more then once but redeemed himself in the end by showing enormous courage in The Battle of Five Armies: Thorin gives everything he has to change the tide of the battle. I am looking forward to the third trilogy.



The No Admittance sign except on party business still hangs on the gate in front of Bag End for the Hobbiton tour.  It appears at the beginning of the film when the Older Bilbo is giving a party but it carries a deeper theme for the story of the exclusive party consisting of 13 Dwarf's, Gandalf and Bilbo going on an quest to Eredor:  "Built deep within the mountain itself, the beauty of this fortress city was a legend. Its wealth lay in the earth, in precious gems humed from rock, and in great seams of gold running like rivers through stone."  No one else joins their dangerous party to enter the lonely mountain where the dragon allows  "No Admittance".

Middle-earth Hobbiton Movie Tour in Matamata, New Zealand

 

 

Middle-earth is located on the picturesque Alexander farm, where we visited the Hobbiton Movie Set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films in a  2 hour guided tour. The tour started with a drive through the picturesque 1,250 acre Alexander sheep farm in the Waikato region with spectacular views across to the Kaimai Ranges. It is a twelve acre site where the 44 hobbit holes were created and transformed into The Shire from Middle-Earth. Peter Jackson spotted Alexander Farm during an aerial search of the North Island, and he thought its rolling meadows and fantastic views made it a perfect spot to build the set of The Shire. The Shire includes the Hobbit holes, Green Dragon Inn, Mill and other structures created for the LOTR and Hobbit films. While Bilbo Baggins is on an adventure far away from his homeland of The Shire, we were there strolling through hobbit holes and had a drink at The Green Dragon.