On the morning of December 27th we drove about an hour to reach the reconstructed site -- in beautiful rolling hills -- of The Shire where Peter Jackson did the filming for both the Lord of the Rings movies and also the two Hobbit films that are yet to be released. Unfortunately, we were required to sign an agreement that pictures taken of Bag End and other Hobbit holes would not be posted on the internet until the 2nd Hobbit film is shown in theaters in December, 2013. However, as part of the tour that we paid for we did watch a sheep-shearing on the farm -- with Ron having a chance to feed one of the lambs. 
After the "Shire-and-farm visit" we drove further afield to reach the much-recommended Hamilton Gardens -- a very extensive arrangement of formal gardens (Japanese, Chinese, Indian, English, American, Italian Renaissance, etc.) 
Pictured to the left is the Italian Renaissance Garden and right below it are the spectacular flower beds in the Indian garden. Also pictured is Nancy standing in the English Flower Garden. Especially the Japanese and Chinese gardens seemed to call us to slow down, sit down, and meditate on the beauty of God's creation. Unfortunately, our time schedule, like so much of life, didn't seem to cooperate!
Other Rotorua experiences included attending an evening Maori cultural event that included a Hangi Dinner (meat & vegetables cooked for 3 hours in a pit in the ground). The picture of the Maori warriors was designed to depict a "welcoming ceremony" on the arrival of people (us) from another tribe. The last picture shows the very ornate Rotorua Museum that we visited on another evening. - rw
On Monday afternoon (Boxing Day in NZ) we spent about an hour walking in "the Redwoods" just adjacent to the Redwoods B&B where we are staying for three nights.
Unique to this NZ grove, however, is the abundance of tree ferns that are growing throughout the grove. The picture below was taken on Nancy's camera and shows one of the "fern coils." - rw 
On our first full morning in Rotorua (the "Maori capital of New Zealand") we drove out of town to a thermal site where our admission entitled us to see a primed geyser (primed with chemicals to erupt at 10:15 a.m. each morning), mud pots, and lots of colored pools with boiling hot water and lots of steam.
On our walk we saw lots of different colors -- especially blues and greens -- on a very nice day for being outdoors. The mud pots reminded me a lot of Yellowstone -- with the bubbling, hot mud occasionally popping-up in the air.
After spending a couple hours on site, we bought a couple of soft drinks at the cafe and had our lunch on a very nice picnic table with "munchies" purchased earlier at a grocery story. 
On our last night (12/24) in Ohakune, we stumbled-into a tiny Italian restaurant in town that had only two other patrons; however, our Christmas Eve dinner was great! 
Afterwards we walked over to this tiny Anglican church (pix above) where we attended a 9:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service that included several aspects of Anglican liturgy, the singing of carols, holy communion, and a "sermon" that featured a skit with dialogue between Santa (traditionally attired) and a man in Palestinian garb who represented Jesus!
but locals admitted that Kiwis like to come in the winter for skiing but have little desire to vacation in the summer in such a beautiful mountain environment.
We had made Christmas dinner reservations at a very nice resort hotel in Rotorua while still in KL, so we climaxed the day with a 6:30 p.m. Christmas dinner that was really delicious! (We have 3 nights/2 full days in Rotorua so plan to take-in a Maori cultural event, see some geothermal phenomenon and end-up making a short drive to Peter Jackson's "Hobbiton"!)- rw
... aka Mt. Ngauruhoe in Tongariro NP, New Zealand 
Nancy and I visited the National Park on the two days before Christmas, taking a couple of really nice 2-hour hikes. On the 23rd we drove up Ohakune Mt. Rd. in order to hike to Waitonga Falls (pix), and then on the 24th we took a 45-min. drive from our lodgings up to Whakapapa Visitors' Centre in order to see a couple of videos about Maori history and the national park, and also take another 2-hour loop hike to Taranaki Falls (pictured below).
The scenery in the park is very interesting -- with the snow-capped Mt. Ruapehu (9177 ft.) dominating much of the scene,
but with relatively little of the landscape forested. 
Instead, there is lots of chaparral-like ground cover 4-10 ft. high that gives much of the area more of a desert-look. But, we had gorgeous weather on both days and guessed that the temperature must have been in the high 60's, with bright sun. So far we've been really pleased with our No. Island trip. Christmas dinner tomorrow night at a classy restaurant in Rotorua! - rw
Our first full day on New Zealand's North Island was beautiful, affording many great views of the city of Wellington. High on our list for Day #1 was a 1/2 day "Lord of the Rings Tour" where initially we visited the site where Frodo and Sam, having left the Shire, are quickly forced to hide at the approach of the horrible Nazgul/Ring-wraits on horseback in quest of the ring. (Does the scene look familiar?)
I am pictured in the exact place where Sam and Frodo hit while the feared horsemen passed by. Rest assured! Special effects added large tree roots as cover between "me" and the narrow dirt road on which the horsemen rode. Needless to say, it was fun being there and trying to re-create the scene.
Then, at still another location Nancy and I got to pose as Gandalf and Saruman, with an appropriate staff for each of us, at the place where Gandalf and Saruman were filmed walking on the path toward Isengard! (Note the pix of Gandalf and Saruman standing with Director Peter Jackson.) - rw 
Note: If you notice the poplar tree over to the left of the photo (above), and then look at the LOR photo book that's also shown in that picture, you will see Gandalf riding a horse on the path toward Isengard. Barely visible at the extreme left of that photo is the same poplar tree!
Since none of us will be in KL for Christmas this year ... and since Doug, Tracy and the kids left on the 17th for Christmas in Ohio, we had our family Christmas dinner on Sunday Noon, December 11th, not long after getting home from church! 
Nancy's every-Christmas-menu (ham, twice-baked potatoes, Swedish tea ring, frozen fruit salad, vegetables and Oreo cookie/ice cream frozen dessert) was enjoyed by all. 
At this point in the NFL season, I'm sure Reeve -- and certainly his dad -- wonder if #18 will ever get back on the field for the Indianapolis Colts. But, one thing is for sure: Reeve is definitely "into" nerf guns!
