Submitted by Carly Battistoni on the 2017 winter session program in Australia sponsored by the Department of Chemical Engineering…
This past weekend was our free weekend without any scheduled excursions planned. Some people flew up to Cairns to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef; I took the weekend to visit New Zealand. And I can honestly say it is as green and hilly as everyone says it is. I traveled to Auckland and then woke up incredibly early to take a bus down for a tour of Hobbiton – Sir Peter Jackson’s creation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series. The set was made on the lands of a sheep farm which is home to 13,000 sheep. The owner of the sheep farm requested that the set be made permanent following the installment of The Hobbit trilogy. It is now a major tourist attraction that draws people in from around the world. I think that’s what amazes me the most – just how globalized our world is and how cultures are colliding. People from places so different than where I am from share common interests with me. We have shared in a common experience that transcends the confines of our geographical locations.
It was incredible to see the movies I have seen countless times come to life. Iconic scenes from the movies, such as the party scene for Bilbo’s 111th birthday, were shot right where I was. It still doesn’t quite seem real that I got to see the Shire. The hobbit holes are so cute and the attention to detail is truly remarkable. If I wasn’t already in love with the movies enough, I fell more in love with them after the tour.
