Middle Earth New Zealand with Grandma and Grandpa
Grandma and Grandpa Sessions were serving a mission on Niue Island. To get there you travel through New Zealand. We wanted to visit them for their 50th wedding anniversary and decided to have a bit of a jaunt through Middle Earth with our family (immediate and extended) before heading to Niue. Mom and Dad got permission to come and see us so we were able to travel around with them as well. They were in a car with Kathy and Jon while the Crow family had a camper van and we (the Larsen family) also had a camper van. In all honesty, camper vans are more expensive and with 5 kids probably more work than they are worth but we wanted to have an 'experience' so of course we were willing to pay for it.
Clear skies and fluffy clouds over Hobbiton Lake:
We had a large group that all flew in at various times the previous evening. We had dinner together at the hotel. It was pricey but the lamb shank, Indian food and molten chocolate brownie were totally worth it.
A few of us took the hotel shuttle to report to Mighty Campers to pick up our campervans. It took over an hour to get squared away ready to roll. After picking up our group at the hotel we hit a grocery store to stock up on breakfast and lunch items. We planned on eating out one meal a day and the other two at the campsite.
Hobbiton
Then, we drove straight to Matamata (two hours) which is where Hobbiton is located. We had tickets for a tour at 3pm. We arrived about 45 minutes early which was the perfect amount of time to take photos around the entrance and a trip to the bathrooms before the tour. You need to be in line for the tour bus at least five minutes before departure, so don't be late! Purchase discount tickets to Hobbiton through our affiliate here.
After the tour we drove on to Rotorua (allow an hour). We stopped at the Rotorua food street in the center of town to eat. We had an amazing spread at Fat Dog cafe with hot chocolates, milkshakes, burgers, bangers and mash and loads and loads of fries. The portions are big, so don't be afraid to share!
After eating we drove 10 minutes out of town to Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park for the night. The adults were tired, but our kids were on a different time zone still, which I didn't account for. They proceeded to bounce around the camper van until almost midnight. In hindsight we should have done some hiking around the lake to help get their wiggles out. It would have saved my sanity and we would have seen more of where we stayed.
The kitchens have multiple stoves, ovens, sinks, tables and chairs. You can easily cook any meal there and eat as a big group. We opted to use the facilities but then sit at our campsite to eat. After breakfast the kids jumped on the trampoline and played at the playground. The facilities were clean and very well taken care of. And even though it is more expensive than a rental car and staying at a cabin in a camping hostel, it was fun. I think I now have a dream of camper van-ing it through NZ for a year. But without kids. Because well... you would know if you had 5 boys in a camper van!
Mud Pools in Rotorua
We spent most of the day at Te Puia. This is a geothermal park where you can experience mud pools, geysers, geothermal pools, and wildlife. Remember to bring walking shoes! To get into the park requires purchasing tickets, but the family pass was very reasonable. We opted for a double pass to get into the park and to experience the cultural dance, which we loved!
Also at Te Puia is a wood and stone carving school where you can see students at work. We met some of the students who happily told us what they were studying and generously spent time showing us their craft. It was fascinating.
That evening some of our group went back to the food street (Tutanekai Street) in downtown Rotorua for Mexican food at El Mexicano Zapata, which they highly recommended. Others of us stayed at the campground with the kids because we had a baby to get to bed.
TePuia Geyser:
Glow Worms
Later that evening we took a small hike out by the lake to see a secret cave of glow worms.
The staff at Blue Lake Holiday Park can give you torches (flashlights) and tell you how to find the cave. (110 paces from the lake). It was such a magical North Island "Middle Earth" experience that I woke up some of my kids to take them out again the same night. I loved it both times.
We had a couple of tours booked with the first one at 1pm. However, because of the beauty of the countryside drive, some of our group arrived late. The staff at the Waitomo Caves were very accommodating and helpful to get our tours moved around.
Waitomo Caves
We drove straight to the Waitomo Caves and toured the glowworm cave first. Then we went to the Waitomo Holiday Park to set up camp while waiting for our second tour to begin. (You can get discounted ticket to the Glow Worm cave here.)
We had a late lunch at Huhu Cafe which was amazing! It’s right next door to the campground. We loved every single dish we ordered. It is absolutely worth the stop and the staff were so patient with such a large group. If you plan on going there for dinner, be sure to make a reservation.
They have won many awards and if you are a foodie, you won't be disappointed. After our meal we had our second tour in the Ruakuri cave which was stellar.
That evening we happily ate at Huhu cafe again. I highly recommend the Gnocchi, lamb meatballs and chocolate orange mousse. Holy cow, so good!
Stunning views on the way to Kawhia: 
We continued our North Island Middle Earth road trip and drove to the west coast of the island to Kawhia (pronounced KahFeeYah). This drive was spectacular!
Kawhia is very small, but charming. We were just a short walk outside of the main part of town. It’s easy and quick to walk back and forth. There is a small museum in the center of town as well as the wharf you can explore, a nice park and some local cafes. We spent most of the day exploring the area.
Hot Water Beach at Kawhia
For the evening we made a picnic and drove about ten minutes up the coast to Ocean Beach, which is a hot water beach. The staff at the Beachside Holiday Park will rent shovels out for $5 a piece. We took our shovels out at low tide and felt around for hot sand and then we dug and dug and dug, until hot water bubbled to the surface and created little hot water pools to lay in.
Clear skies and fluffy clouds over Hobbiton Lake:
Day 1:
8am: Meet at Sudima Airport Hotel Auckland lobby Monday morning. This hotel is close to airport and campervan pickup and has a shuttle to and from the airport and campervan place.We had a large group that all flew in at various times the previous evening. We had dinner together at the hotel. It was pricey but the lamb shank, Indian food and molten chocolate brownie were totally worth it.
A few of us took the hotel shuttle to report to Mighty Campers to pick up our campervans. It took over an hour to get squared away ready to roll. After picking up our group at the hotel we hit a grocery store to stock up on breakfast and lunch items. We planned on eating out one meal a day and the other two at the campsite.
Hobbiton
Then, we drove straight to Matamata (two hours) which is where Hobbiton is located. We had tickets for a tour at 3pm. We arrived about 45 minutes early which was the perfect amount of time to take photos around the entrance and a trip to the bathrooms before the tour. You need to be in line for the tour bus at least five minutes before departure, so don't be late! Purchase discount tickets to Hobbiton through our affiliate here.
Hobbiton is magical! We loved every minute of it.Though we wanted to do the sunset tour and feast, I didn't book tickets in time and they were sold out. We did the regular tour and at the end they take you to the Hobbiton pub for some ginger beer. Be sure to buy some of the food available. The muffins and scones were to die for! I regretted missing out on the feast tickets, because I’m sure the food and atmosphere was fantastic.
Home of Bilbo Baggins at the Hobbiton Movie set: 
A friend of mine did the sunset tour and feast earlier and said it was expensive but totally worth it. Especially if you are a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fan. So book early, pay the money and just do it! I loved Hobbiton so much more than I thought I would. It is a fun experience. After the tour we drove on to Rotorua (allow an hour). We stopped at the Rotorua food street in the center of town to eat. We had an amazing spread at Fat Dog cafe with hot chocolates, milkshakes, burgers, bangers and mash and loads and loads of fries. The portions are big, so don't be afraid to share!
After eating we drove 10 minutes out of town to Blue Lake Top 10 Holiday Park for the night. The adults were tired, but our kids were on a different time zone still, which I didn't account for. They proceeded to bounce around the camper van until almost midnight. In hindsight we should have done some hiking around the lake to help get their wiggles out. It would have saved my sanity and we would have seen more of where we stayed.
Day 2:
Some of our group woke up early the second day to walk around Blue Lake which has hiking trails all the way around it. Walking the entire lake takes three hours, or you can spend some quiet time by the banks. There was a school group having boat races which was fun to watch.The holiday parks we stayed in were very well equipped.Our Mighty campervan:
Mud Pools in Rotorua
We spent most of the day at Te Puia. This is a geothermal park where you can experience mud pools, geysers, geothermal pools, and wildlife. Remember to bring walking shoes! To get into the park requires purchasing tickets, but the family pass was very reasonable. We opted for a double pass to get into the park and to experience the cultural dance, which we loved!
Also at Te Puia is a wood and stone carving school where you can see students at work. We met some of the students who happily told us what they were studying and generously spent time showing us their craft. It was fascinating.
That evening some of our group went back to the food street (Tutanekai Street) in downtown Rotorua for Mexican food at El Mexicano Zapata, which they highly recommended. Others of us stayed at the campground with the kids because we had a baby to get to bed.
TePuia Geyser:
Later that evening we took a small hike out by the lake to see a secret cave of glow worms.
The staff at Blue Lake Holiday Park can give you torches (flashlights) and tell you how to find the cave. (110 paces from the lake). It was such a magical North Island "Middle Earth" experience that I woke up some of my kids to take them out again the same night. I loved it both times.
Day 3:
After a leisurely morning of a simple breakfast, playing on the playground and riding rented bikes at Blue Lake, we drove to Waitomo.We had a couple of tours booked with the first one at 1pm. However, because of the beauty of the countryside drive, some of our group arrived late. The staff at the Waitomo Caves were very accommodating and helpful to get our tours moved around.
Waitomo Caves
Stalactites in Ruakuri Cave:
We had a late lunch at Huhu Cafe which was amazing! It’s right next door to the campground. We loved every single dish we ordered. It is absolutely worth the stop and the staff were so patient with such a large group. If you plan on going there for dinner, be sure to make a reservation.
They have won many awards and if you are a foodie, you won't be disappointed. After our meal we had our second tour in the Ruakuri cave which was stellar.
That evening we happily ate at Huhu cafe again. I highly recommend the Gnocchi, lamb meatballs and chocolate orange mousse. Holy cow, so good!
Day 4:
Our kids started out each morning on the playground. Both Blue Lake and Waitomo are operated by the same company so you get similar accommodations and facilities. The playgrounds are well designed with space and activities. This particular morning there was a school group staying in the campground as well. All the kids had a jumping contest on the trampoline which lasted much longer then it should have. By the time we hit the road it was almost noon.We continued our North Island Middle Earth road trip and drove to the west coast of the island to Kawhia (pronounced KahFeeYah). This drive was spectacular!
There were so many green rolling hills, with sheep and cows dotting the hillsides and the fluffiest, brightest clouds imaginable.There is a lovely scenic stop at the top of a hill before you descend into Kawhia. We spent some good time there stretching our legs and taking photos.
Playing in the mud at Kawhia Bay during low tide: 
We stayed at Kawhia Beachside S-cape Holiday Park which was on the Kawhia Harbour waterfront. It was small, quaint and beautiful, but not as large as the other campgrounds and there wasn’t a playground to speak of. It wasn’t really missed though. When we arrived it was low tide so the kids walked out among all the sea crabs and explored in the mud. Kawhia is very small, but charming. We were just a short walk outside of the main part of town. It’s easy and quick to walk back and forth. There is a small museum in the center of town as well as the wharf you can explore, a nice park and some local cafes. We spent most of the day exploring the area.
Hot Water Beach at Kawhia
For the evening we made a picnic and drove about ten minutes up the coast to Ocean Beach, which is a hot water beach. The staff at the Beachside Holiday Park will rent shovels out for $5 a piece. We took our shovels out at low tide and felt around for hot sand and then we dug and dug and dug, until hot water bubbled to the surface and created little hot water pools to lay in.
It was my kids favourite part of the entire trip!We spent hours there and enjoyed the hot water and the sunset. The scenery is gorgeous and it’s fun to shuffle through the sand to find hot spots before digging. Kawhia is off the beaten track so we were some of the only tourists on the beach. We loved watching the sun set and feeling the heat of the water with the chill of the air but you can also go in the morning at low tide which many people do.
Marvelling at the hot water seeping to the top of the beach sand in Kawhia: 
Comments