As Women’s World Cup kicks off Down Under, here’s how to have the best holiday in New Zealand

“I’M going on an adventure!” bellowed Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.

And that’s what I shouted too before setting out on the long and winding roads through astonishingly beautiful New Zealand, where The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings trilogies were filmed.

ShutterstockNew Zealand is totally breathtaking[/caption]

ShutterstockWe arrived in the charming city of Auckland, where we kicked off our adventure[/caption]

While Bilbo raced off on foot from The Shire, I drove 2,000 miles to check if those spectacular vistas in the movies of JRR Tolkien’s books weren’t enhanced just a bit.

Turns out, the cinema screen doesn’t do them justice.

The mountains, valleys, forests, lakes, rivers, beaches, geysers and glaciers are breathtaking.

New Zealand, which will jointly host the women’s football World Cup with Australia from next week — where England’s Lionesses hope to repeat their success from Euro 2022 — is made up of two main islands.

Bilbo and fellow Hobbit Frodo’s homes were set on a huge sheep farm near Matamata, on the smaller North Island.

I joined the two-hour Hobbiton movie set tour there, which would only need Gandalf to walk round the corner to make it even more thrilling.

The Hobbits’ cute molehill houses, with bright circular doors are just facades, but from December, you will be able to step inside as three mounds on “Bagshot Row” are being transformed into a series of rooms.

After a pint in Hobbiton’s Green Dragon Inn, we hit the road having ticked off one of the must-dos on our adventure.

It was a long list but husband David and I managed to pack in whale-spotting, climbing, glow-worm caving, island-hopping, wine-tasting and even kauri tree-hugging.

Father of the Forest

We went on buses, trains, ferries, trams and a light plane, all thanks to an itinerary from New Zealand experts at Wexas Travel.

After a 23-hour flight from Heathrow with Singapore Airlines, including a 90-minute transfer in Singapore, we landed in Auckland for breakfast.

My antidote to jet lag is not to hit the sack until bedtime.

So, after checking into The Great Ponsonby Arthotel, we went sightseeing.

ShutterstockI even managed to pack in whale-spotting into my trip[/caption]

We visited Hobbiton, AKA The Shire set from Lord of the Rings

Heading up the city’s 1,076ft Sky Tower, we had 360-degree views while watching daredevils bungee jump off the 32nd floor.

We also visited Eden Park, New Zealand’s National Stadium, which is hosting the World Cup opening ceremony on Thursday, and the fantastic War Memorial Museum.

Next day, batteries recharged, we took a 40-minute ferry to the 12-mile long Waiheke Island and boarded a hop-on, hop-off bus.

And it is a paradise — shimmering coves, unspoiled beaches, chilled cafes, wine growers and whisky makers.

Sipping wine at Mudbrick Vineyard, perched on a ridge overlooking beautiful Hauraki Gulf, was blissful.

There was more tipple-tasting on a Hawkes Bay wine tour, run by John Hanlon, NZ’s answer to Chatty Man Alan Carr.

While giving us the lowdown on the cost of the Covid lockdown, a recent cyclone and the general election, he drove us to four vineyards.

After we downed wine of every colour, including their famous Sauvignon Blanc, which makes up two-thirds of the country’s production, jaunty John delivered us back to our hotel in Napier.

This gorgeous beachside city was rebuilt in Art Deco style after being destroyed by an earthquake in 1931.

New Zealanders treasure their precious lands, which according to Maori history were discovered by Polynesian fisherman Kupe around 1073 — 700 years before Captain Cook.

In Hokianga, on the north west coast, we visited the new Manea Footprints of Kupe, where the voyager’s descendants tell his story through dance, art and a clever 4D film.

It’s also where we took a spiritual Maori tour through Waipoua Forest, chanting and offering prayers to the mighty kauri trees, including the Father of the Forest — a 2,000-year-old one that is 98ft tall with a 53ft-wide trunk.

We were treated to more rituals, including the haka, at the Maori geothermal village in the city of Rotorua, on the east coast.

Around 20 families live among the bubbling geysers, still using underground steam to cook food.

Rotorua is also home to Hell’s Gate mud spa and sulphur baths, which are supposed to be good for your bones.

Maybe, but I resembled a beached whale.

Not a bit graceful, unlike the orcas and dolphins leaping and swirling around our boat in the warm turquoise waters off Kaikoura.

We saw more dolphins from a boat on Milford Sound, a tranquil fjord with waterfalls that stretches to the Tasman Sea.

Adventure capital

It was well worth the five-hour coach journey from Queenstown with Altitude Tours and the spectacular 40-minute flight back on a 13-seater plane.

The latter gave bird’s eye views of glistening glaciers, rivers then Queenstown, on the shore of Lake Wakatipu.

This southern city is where the bungee jump craze began and, as with other tourist hotspots, it’s an adventure capital.

Biking, hiking, rafting, zip-lining, caving, paragliding, fishing and even taking a helicopter to the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers in Westland Tai Poutini National Park and landing on the snow — you name it, New Zealand offers it.

Another, more unique, attraction is a fence covered in multi-coloured bras — now including one of mine — near the 1863 Hotel Cardrona in the old gold rush town of Cardrona.

In capital Wellington, we took the 1902 red cable car from the city centre to a lookout over the harbour and walked back through the botanic gardens.

Equally fabulous, is the panoramic view of Christchurch from the summit of the Gondola ride.

It’s clear New Zealand is the Lord of all things, even Gandalf couldn’t use his wizardry to magic up any more.

SuppliedAnother Kiwi attraction is a fence covered in multi-coloured bras — now including one of mine[/caption]

SuppliedHeading up Auckland’s 1,076ft Sky Tower, we had 360-degree views of the city[/caption]

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