Really? I spent a lot of time in Marton as a child, my grandmother lived there. I assumed it was dead now. Does it really still exist?

I don't suppose you'll ever get it.

Hobbiton is worth the trip - BUT!!

Drive directly to the office, don't get the tour from within Town as it costs a lot more.

Also, you can actually stay longer at the Green Dragon and order more beer/food but they don't tell you.

Far from being dead it is now the cultural and financial hub for a population close to 20,000 people. It boasts an all new New World super market, a refurbished Farmlands, a Holden dealership, two of the most prestigious private schools in the country (of course they don't like that fact attached) and at least 3 distinct main roads, a town with no clear identity. The closure of Lake Ellice added a whole new dimension of quirky Uber intellects drawing comparisons to other global cultural hubs such as the picturesque Cuba Street in Wellington or the inner suburbs of Henderson. Marton truly epitomises the (not so) rural Kiwi former service town cum intellectual mecca, Its no wonder it was on the shortlist for NZs most beautiful town in 1983.

Hobbiton is worth the trip - BUT!!

Drive directly to the office, don't get the tour from within Town as it costs a lot more.

Also, you can actually stay longer at the Green Dragon and order more beer/food but they don't tell you.

The good people at wikipedia tell me it is also the home town of Israel Dagg.

Awesome, that's a great wee tip. Given it's the manifestation of a fictional place, I won't lose out on the tour guide's historical knowledge of the site either.

If you make it to Dunedin, get in touch and I can take you for a ride down the peninsula on the back of my bike.

For me it was very nostalgic as I'm from Devon - sitting in the pub with an Ale, a huge slab of Pork Pie watching the sun stream through the glass......it was like being back home

Rotorua smells of bum.

Joking aside, I know what you mean- the only pub I can find in Sydney that is even remotely ye olde worldly is the Lord Dudley. Having lived in Edinburgh and London for many years, I miss the classic Victorian pub.

Haven't you been to the Lord Nelson!?!

Haven't you been to the Lord Nelson!?!

The Dudley is good but a bit out of the way.

Rozelle and Balmain have a few old style pubs - although a couple have closed recently.

Believe it or not, the best "English" style pub in Oz is in Albany. Probably due to the Whalers being based there but coming from the UK originally.

Enlighten me oh wise one You are South African correct?

Jokes bro, I take it your whanau moved over here in the 1990s?

Is the Lord Nelson also free of door staff? An unexpected sneeze seems to get one chucked out these days. That's incidentally why I like the Dudley (and indeed Bat Country in Randwick) as there's no bouncers (at least not when I've been there).
Yeah, I used to live in Balmain East and I loved the high street along there but have actually never been to Rozelle (shamefully).

Yep.

I go there fairly regularly.

Rozelle is actually preferable to Balmain nowadays.

You should really join the Sydney Cabal, although it's a bit broken at present...

Marton truly epitomises the (not so) rural Kiwi former service town cum intellectual mecca, Its no wonder it was on the shortlist for NZs most beautiful town in 1983.

That's good to know: Sydney's pub scene has been utterly ruined by overzealous local bureaucrats insisting that outside companies are hired to do the door. My record was, after going to withdraw some cash at the ATM, I was refused re-entry to the Coogee Bay Hotel despite still having a bit of my 1st pint left on the table. .

How does one join the Sydney Cabal? Would be good to know if people are off to watch some games.

Cheers Pat, yes- I fell for that myself whilst looking at the map but have since overlaid NZ onto Australia.

Thanks, will definitely be rafting at some point.

I’ve always wondered what a tourist having been to QT thinks when they roll in to the NI equivalent, Rotorua.

Any adventure stuff (jetboating, Bungy, Skydiving, rafting etc) is much cheaper to do in Taupo, rather than Queenstown.

Great pie shop in Taupo...coming from Huka falls/Craters of the moon, down the hill into Taupo, across the bridge, up the hill, turn left onto Spa road (supermarket on your left), a hundred metres or so on your left is a pie shop....great pies.

I drive past that pie shop daily on the way to work.

Didn't realise what I was missing!!! (I have had a pie from there and thought it was good but not worthy of a world wide plug on PR ).

One last defence of Rotorua then I'll give up. Totally disagree. Where can you see the stuff Rotorua has anywhere in the rest of the world? Only a handful of places and Rotorua would probably be the easiest to access. Coromandel is beautiful but is a bit out of the way. September/October, when the OP is here isn't really the ideal time for the Coromandel either. And Waitomo, other than the caves has...what? Plus it is out of the way. Rotorua is on the way south to Taupo, another spot that shouldn't be missed so why would you avoid it? If the wonders of nature don't interest you, maybe if you have been to Yellowstone and it didn't do it for you, sure, give Rotorua a pass. But otherwise as an international tourist you would be mad to bypass Rotorua. You'd be missing a unique part of not just NZ but the world. Just don't go expecting Queenstown like scenery or a pumping nightlife and you'll be fine.

I'll 100% be making it to Dunedin as it's one of the places I've always wanted to go! Just been looking at google images of it now.

With the smile from that avatar, your offer wouldn't happen to be a euphemism?

Well I'm happy to hear that. I have a soft spot for the place after my 2nd cousin showed me how to ride his motor cycle on his farm there when I must have been, oh, at least 9 or 10. I was always a bit miffed a tractor rolled on him.

I remember a newspaper headline from years ago, after a tractor rolled on an AB forward (can't remember who it was)

"Tractor damaged when rolling on All Black forward".

Might have been Ken Gray.

Ken Gray farmed in Plimmerton I think. Marton is flat - how does a tractor roll on someone there? But I think Jazz Muller might have ended up there from memory.

No euphemism, no.



Easy enough to bolt the pillion seat on.

It's a pretty neat way to enjoy the countryside IMO.

Don't feel obliged to, I'm happy enough to meet up for a quiet beer.

Ken Gray farmed in Plimmerton I think. Marton is flat - how does a tractor roll on someone there? But I think Jazz Muller might have ended up there from memory.

Ken Gray farmed in Plimmerton I think. Marton is flat - how does a tractor roll on someone there? But I think Jazz Muller might have ended up there from memory.

Not a euphemism, but he only needs the pillion for the ride to the peninsula!

Also, a general thanks to everyone who has contributed so far- I've begun transcribing the recommendations into a route complete with pie stops

I am not going until Sept but will post my finalized route and rough dates in case anyone knows of another pie shop or pub in the vicinity

The Pie shop in Keri Keri does a magnificent Kumera and Lamb pie....

Kumara

Also, a general thanks to everyone who has contributed so far- I've begun transcribing the recommendations into a route complete with pie stops

I am not going until Sept but will post my finalized route and rough dates in case anyone knows of another pie shop or pub in the vicinity

I'll certainly take you up on the beer!

I haven't been on a motorbike since I crashed one in Cambodia (about 20 mins after the first 2017 Lions - AB test concluded) so will have to banish the fear!

Are there any old school pubs in Dunedin? I am hoping they have also replicated the Edinburgh pubs. .

Really? They spell it that way here.