Tag Archives: In search of Middle Earth

Blessings, Dreaming, Family, Grace, Gratitude, Health and Wellness, Holidays, Mindfulness, Nature, Reflection, Ritual, Storytelling, Travel, Values

Wanderings Day 25

So day 25 of this virtual wander down my travel memory lane.

From tomorrow, for the last 5 days of these wanderings I will be tackling the “big shaping” journeys of my life so far.

In light of that, I thought today would be a good opportunity to pause. Returning back to NZ for a retreat “travels with mom” reminisce. We stayed in the Valley Hut at Kōmanawa. A pure space if ever there was one.

I have already posted a few pics from this retreat into the NZ wilderness last year – https://purespaces.co.nz/a-middle-earth-retreat/

Today these pics have helped me soak up that retreat “atmosphere” once again. In these last days of lockdown here in New Zealand and with it being Anzac Day too, there is much time for reflection.

Time for this quiet revolutionary to take stock, re-evaluate and keep dreaming. I still believe in magic…. the magic that makes hope float up.

That’s what momma always says. She says that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up.

“Hope Floats” (1998) – Sandra Bullock as Birdee Pruitt
Blessings, Christmas, Family, Gratitude, Health and Wellness, Holidays, Nature, Quiet, Reflection, Storytelling, Travel

Wanderings Day 20

“I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find somewhere where I can rest… I might find somewhere where I can finish my book. I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.”

J R R Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring

Today’s wandering takes us to some very special mountains. The volcanoes of the central plateau in New Zealand’s North Island. I have visited this area many times over the years and experience a different mood each time.

Again, quite a bit of filming around here for Lord of the Rings movies…. it definitely has a Middle Earth magic.

These pics are from a visit to the Chateau Tongariro for family Christmas.

Blessings, Family, Food, Gratitude, Holidays, Nature, Reflection, Storytelling, Travel

Wanderings Day 19

Another wandering day in search of Middle Earth…. and another “travels with mom” adventure.

This time we visit Hobbiton in the Shire.

I highly recommend the evening banquet tour. You enjoy a wander through Hobbiton at sun down including a visit to Bag End, Bagshot Row and the Party Tree. Then arrive at the Green Dragon for a fabulous feast fit for Hobbits and finish with a lantern tour back through Hobbiton.

Professor Tolkien’s descriptions of Hobbiton and surrounds leap off the page and you are magically transported to the Shire for a little while.

Blessings, Dreaming, Family, Gratitude, Health and Wellness, Holidays, Mindfulness, Nature, Quiet, Reflection, Storytelling, Travel

Wanderings Day 18

For today’s wandering we are back in beautiful Aotearoa/New Zealand remembering another “travels with mom” adventure in search of Middle Earth.

New Zealand’s North Island. State Highway 3 takes you through the King Country west of the Waikato River. The landscape here is mystical and intriguing – limestone and sandstone bluffs surrounded by ancient Podocarp forest.

Take State Highway 3 and wind your way through the Awakino gorge till you hit the west coast and its black sand beaches.

Stay at Struan Farm if you like a green country garden setting with the sheep wandering by.

And then definitely adventure into the hills near Piopio to find the Hairy Feet tour – a perfect Middle Earth location. On this farm they filmed part of the first Hobbit movie – An Unexpected Journey.

The day mom and I were there it was pouring rain. It was just us and the guide…. and it was magical. Not just because I am such a Middle Earth fan but also the karst landscape. I am a bit of a geology geek too!

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you may be swept off to.” J R R Tolkien
Blessings, Family, Gratitude, Holidays, Mindfulness, Nature, Quiet, Storytelling, Travel

Wanderings Day 12

Still on the same “travels with mom” adventure that brought us to Queenstown, New Zealand’s South Island.

We took a side trip – a bus ride from Queenstown to Fiordland National Park. Then onto a boat for an overnight stay on Milford Sound.

More of Middle Earth to discover. Here we glimpsed the River Anduin, the Dead Marshes and Fangorn Forest.

If I put my ecologist hat on for a moment. Here is a raw, pure Aotearoa/New Zealand environment. Magnificent in scale. Teeming with biodiversity. Truly showcasing the power and awesomeness of Mother Nature. A pure space.

A pure space – this paradox of serenity in harsh, isolated spaces keeps coming up for me as I wander these travel memories. Something that speaks to my soul, I suppose.

Still round the corner there may wait

A new road or a secret gate

And though I oft have passed them by

A day will come at last when I

Shall take the hidden paths that run

West of the Moon, East of the Sun

J R R Tolkien