Many Meetings - Many Partings

I'm so filled with mixed emotions. The closer to my departure date I have gotten the increasingly more excited to come home but also increasingly sad and upset that I'm leaving I have become. That has now gave way to just being rather forlorn and at the same time in disbelief that it is all over.  I know that I'm getting on a plane today and leaving New Zealand for the foreseeable future and yet most of my brain thinks that I'm going to wake up here, in my bedroom, again tomorrow morning. Thankfully this has resulted in me not being too stressed out over the flight and all that entails. But I know that I have to go home, because a little paper in my passport tells me this, and the spare days that I have not been travelling (those that I have had to pack and rest) have been a little torturous. Now that it has come I feel like I've had to psyche myself up and just want to get it done and over with. I know it's going to be painful, but can we rip it off quick like a band-aid? But I've had to sit here and count down the days. 

I've spent all this time preparing to come here - a year to be exact. I've researched nursing, travelling and living in New Zealand. You do all this work getting your brain set up for coming and living here. Then, when you finally do get here, all your energy goes into settling in. You get involved in events, you explore your town and the surrounding areas, you meet people - so many wonderful people - and set out to get to know them. You work on finding meaning and belonging in your workplace. You take advantage of the fact that you're here for a short time and become comfortable, making new friends (and family). 

And then this message in your diary creeps closer and closer. "Depart from Wellington. Back to Canada." Leave New Zealand? But this is where I live... Heaps of preparation to come here - no preparation on leaving here. My brain feels a little shocked and confused. Deep deep down it has known all along that I am going to be leaving eventually. But the longer I've been here the deeper it has become and I think, "Already!?" now that the date is fast approaching. I cannot believe that it is already December or that I am already having to leave. At the same time, I feel like I have been here for such a long time. I know, because of this, that I have made the most of my time here. I don't regret any of my decisions - even the decision to not see different parts of the country, but I now feel like I belong here and the plane ticket that tells me I do not throws my brain into a spin. 

I'm absolute rubbish at goodbye's to begin with, but the lack of belief and urgency has made it difficult to properly say them. I don't want to say goodbye and therefore I don't. I think, but "I'm coming back" as if it is as easy as hoping into your car and driving 10 minutes down the road, when in reality I have no idea when I will be able to return. All I know is that I want to - most definitely. And I want as many people as possible that I know to experience this amazing country. New Zealand is a most spectacular, almost magical place and I am definitely going to miss it. 

So I will leave you with a quote:

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."

INSIDE INFORMATION

It feels really surreal. I got to see the last chapter of my favourite movies come to an end, just as my time on this adventure is coming to an end. I got to see it in New Zealand, on my birthday (which would never have been possible in Canada), and only days after visiting Hobbiton. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday. This has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so so so grateful. I've come to that point in my trip where you think, "Is this real?" And I'm so terrified that when I go home, it will feel like I'm waking up and it was all a dream. But I'm confident that just as these movies will live on in my heart and never get old, that my time here will too. 

I don't know if this was just in New Zealand, considering it was thanking Kiwis, but there was a bit of a recap of the journey starting with Rings and then the Hobbit. It was really beautiful and sad and happy all at the same time and a great way to end the last of the series, so hopefully it makes it on to the bonus features when the videos are released.

I'm just going to start out by raving about how amazing Martin Freeman is in this film. He plays Bilbo absolutely brilliantly and I loved every second of his performance. I do not think there could have been a better actor to bring Tolkien's character to life. He (Bilbo) is without a doubt the star of this film (good thing too because the films are kind of about him) and that is only made possible by Martin's acting. People complained that a movie called "The Hobbit" was actually about 13 dwarves, but when you look at these films in their entirety it is obvious who the main character is - who shines through. Like I said, I absolutely loved it and at the end of the film just wanted to give Bilbo a hug and say, "You are my hero; I love you Man."  

The movie was amazing. To be completely honest I did expect just a tad more sentimentality. Maybe it's because I'm just really sentimental as I am leaving or maybe it's because there has been a lot of sentimentality over the past few weeks on the part of those involved in producing the film, but it did feel a little like it kind of just ended. It is appropriate that they changed the name of this film from There and Back Again, because they're already there and there isn't a whole lot of back again, comparing to the 6 hours we've spent getting there. **

But it is definitely epic. It is action packed. It is intense. I might have cried a little bit. In my estimation, the rumored 45 minute battle scene is an understatement - let's be honest this movie is called the Battle of the Armies. For everyone who complained that An Unexpected Journey took too long to get going, you have absolutely nothing to complain about. Fasten your seat belts. 

This movie is basically one massive climax for the whole series. It does literally start off exactly where we left off at the end of The Desolation of Smaug. That emotion and character development is still there, but because it doesn't follow the normal rising crescendo to a climax (because the whole movie is one) when just watching this movie stand alone it doesn't necessarily stand out as much as in other Middle Earth movies. So I would highly highly suggest watching at least the Desolation of Smaug, if not both movies before watching it, if you can. Trust me, you will get so much more out of this movie if you do. 

**Note: I did really enjoy how Peter Jackson really worked to tie the story of the Hobbit in with the Lord of the Rings. And the story definitely comes full circle ingeniously (you'll see what I mean). I think the goal (with this movie and the whole trilogy) was definitely to make it possible for [hard-core] fans to be able to sit down for a marathon and watch An Unexpected Journey straight through to The Return of the King. So that being said, a long drawn out sentimental conclusion wouldn't have really been appropriate.**

Looking at these films as a series, they are absolutely brilliant. I can't wait to watch this film again and seeing the film today just makes me want to go out and watch the others. I hope that you all enjoy the film as much as I did and hopefully will not be too sad that it is all over. 

Cheers!

QUEER LODGINGS

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms or an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

*cue theme music*

On Wednesday, I visited the much loved Hobbiton. They say never meet your heroes (which technically Hobbiton is a place, but whatever). They were wrong. Can I just say... I took well over 100 photos, of which I can only show you a small handful on the blog, so if you want to see more, you'll have to come talk to me later. 

Getting ready to leave, I was actually nervous.Travelling up to this point this last week, and most of the other places I've gone over the past few months, I haven't really cared... up until yesterday. It was like when you're going to meet an old friend and you kind of want to make a good impression, but what if you don't get on, what if they're not as interesting as they used to be? Will seeing the real Hobbiton ruin all of the magic of the movie... 

I never really ever dreamed that I would be able to come to New Zealand, let along Hobbiton. The movies quickly became an all time favourite after, as an 8 year old, I convinced my mother that my 6 year old sister and I were old enough to watch it and would not be scared. When the Return of the King was released, we were finally both old enough to see one of the movies in theatres. My dad owned a grand total of 6 movies, 3 of which were the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings movies... and my sister and I watched one of them almost every other weekend... for several years. It would not be unreasonable to say that combined with the 2 Hobbit movies (considering I saw the Desolation of Smaug 4 times in theatres) that I've probably seen them 100 times, maybe more. Through all of this, I can never remember thinking, "I want to go there some day," because I think (until about a year ago), I generally did not think it would ever be possible. It was like a dream that was such a dream that you don't even think of it afterwards. But Hobbiton has definitely worked its way into my heart, as it has for many others, and to say that this was a dream come true is such an understatement (as many of you will understand). So I think I had the right to be a little nervous. 

Of course, all of this went away as soon as we started driving over the rolling hills, speckled with sheep and cattle. The landscape around Matamata itself is worth a drive around, again the classic rolling hills, winding roads, lots of sheep and the Kaimai ranges in the backdrop. 

The set is on a fully functioning, family run sheep farm. The father has now retired, but two of his sons keep up the farm. One manages the sheep and cattle and the other the tourists. Because of it being on a fully functioning farm, the tours are guided, but it is a relatively casual guided. They bring you to different areas where there are a number of different Hobbit holes or things to take pictures with, so it isn't exactly "You have to come here and see these things." The tours, gift shop, cafe and maintenance crew employ (at least this is my understanding from something my guide said) around 150 people and most of them are from Matamata and the surrounding areas, so the community itself has really benefited. The gardens, you can wander through and the gardeners get first pick of the produce, followed by some of the other employees and all the rest goes to the Green Dragon. There is a hobbit hole that you can open the door, play with props in front and basically get more interactive with - whatever your little hobbit heart desires. Hang out in the party field under the party tree and play 'the party field game'. Take a picture in front of Bag End and then head on over to the Green dragon for a pint (or a ginger beer). 

"I feel like I'm back at the Green Dragon... after a hard day's work"

I can now verify that  not only does Hobbiton look amazing, it also smells, feels, sounds and tastes amazing. No really, walking around the picturesque hobbit holes, I couldn't get over how lovely it smelt. 
Peter Jackson has got a reputation for being probably one of the pickiest directors ever. All of the painstaking work and attention to detail is probably one of the things that has made the Middle Earth saga so famous and wow! has it paid off! I'm not going to go over too many of the details, such as what makes the tree over Bilbo's home so special, why the pond was such as pain-in-the-rear or the sheep "problem" - that's to be saved for the tour (and is probably available somewhere out there on the internet already anyways). But it is definitely evident that the Lord of the Rings was not just a Peter Jackson accomplishment, it was also a New Zealand accomplishment - just from the sheer number of Kiwis involved from those working at Weta, the crew, the extras, the NZ army, to the university students who picked very single piece of fruit off all the dwarf apple and pear trees in Hobbiton so plums could be hand wired on to them, because that's the fruit mentioned in the books, so that's what fans will be expecting. Honestly, so much effort from so many people went into making these movies painstakingly perfect (... and beautiful) that I think it is deserving of the cult status that it has achieved. Hobbiton is absolutely gorgeous, so detailed and so believably real. I want to go back already! Best day EVER!

 

Cheers!