And last but not least, my personal favorite part of our New Zealand adventures

The Green Dragon Inn.

So for our last and final trip, we ventured back to Hobbiton. I've already shared pictures of what our experience looked like from the last time we visited, but this year was a real treat solely because of:
1. Our cute little old tour guide, and
2. The Green Dragon Inn.

 (Samwise Gamgee's cute little hobbit house!)

The Green Dragon Inn 

The Green Dragon Inn was just finished in December 2012, so if anyone is planning on a trip to the Shire any time soon... You're in for a real treat. After the tour, you actually get to go have drinks (on the house!) at the Green Dragon Inn for some real honest-to-goodness (nonalcoholic :) ginger beer. I honestly felt like I was in a LOTR movie, as we sat around the table as our tour guide told us stories of Middle-earth. It was never on my bucket list before visiting, but it definitely felt like a once in a lifetime sort-of experience. (And truth be told, the pictures hardly do it justice)

Cathedral Cove, Coromandel

 (photo quality courtesy of my father)

Cathedral Cove: blue skies, blue sea, and the magnificent archway that everyone should see (or have their significant other carry them through) at least once in their lifetime. This is where The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe movie was filmed, (ps. I couldn't remember it either) And yes, for those of you wondering, to get here requires a hike through the mountains that my mom claims will kill an old soul (we deserve a medal. where is our medal?)

It's beautiful.

Auckland, West Coast, Hamilton etc.

Downtown Auckland is one of my favorite places to go when I visit my parents, Queens Street especially. With Japanese restaurants literally lining every street corner, Max thought he had died and gone to heaven. Although a lot of the restaurants serve fish galore, my favorite place to get lunch is Elliot Stables, where I promise you can find the best margherita pizza in all the world (plus it has the best street view of the Sky Tower).

West Coast beaches/Northland

The Tane Mahuta (Lord of the Forest), two thousand years old. 

You can't tell from the picture, but it's 42ft around the base of this tree!

Walking along the beach at night, seeing dim lights from sailboats dotting the water, and the moon reflecting off the ocean, I'm certain, is one of the best things in life. I'm too afraid to go swimming after dark, but just looking at it was so pretty.

Hamilton, New Zealand

It felt so funny the first couple of years celebrating the holidays in sunny, 80 degree weather. But twinkle lights in palm trees, a trip to the temple, and having the entire family together (first time since our wedding!) entirely made up the difference. Spending Christmas on an island? Worth it.

Russell, Bay of Islands

I have a million things to say about our trip to New Zealand, but I have to start with my favorite: Russell.

Russell is a small town situated in the Bay of Islands, far north on the north island of New Zealand. Surrounded by miles of ocean, sail boats, and the most beautiful holiday homes I've ever seen, it's quaint and charming and perfect. Although most of the homes on the island cost millions of dollars, (one of the resorts can even cost upwards of $25,000 dollars a night (!!!)) I'm absolutely convinced that if I were to ever strike it rich, my first purchase would be here.

We usually spend an afternoon in Russell when we're visiting, always grabbing a bite for lunch at Sally's (the pasta is molto bene!) But I imagine if I were to ever live here, I'd spend my days eating Tim Tams from the bakery, and my evenings watching outdoor movies at one of the local hotels (this really happens!) or by taking long walks on the beach at night :) Yes, this has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.

a little place called the shire.

A few years ago while I was in New Zealand, we visited a little town called Hobbiton, famously known as The Shire. Honestly, it's amazing. I've never been a LOTR fanatic, but it was unbelievable how much work they put into just one set that only has a little time on screen! When we were there, we had to sign a disclosure form before going on the tour, agreeing that we would not post any of the pictures online since it was still in use for the filming of The Hobbit; now that the filming has finished, we are finally allowed to post away!

It's truly unbelievable, (like the rest of New Zealand, really) and I can't wait to show Max in a few weeks! Except truth be told, my favorite part of the whole tour had to be bottle feeding the baby lambs at the very end :) I'd take one home with me if I could.