Matamata Part 2

Here are more pictures of my trip to Matamata. :) I was in Matamata for my placement and I absolutely fell in love with the place. It's a small town but quite busy because many tourists stop by to jump on board in the Hobbitton tour. Here are some pictures I took during this awesome trip but don't be deceived. The pictures I took may be amateur but the view was definitely breathtaking... :)

Founder's park not too far away from the motel I was staying
(it was Horse and Jockey Inn).
 Nice place to stay and you get really nice view too. :)

The path towards the Tower. It was funny how the walk up to the tower took so much longer than the trip back. Haha. Probably because I was so fascinated by the surroundings that I did spent a lot of time having photo stops. :)

Shot this from my window in the motel. Such an awesome scenery after a long day at work. :) I love sunset. :)

This was the starting point of an amazing walk. I really enjoyed the walk. The pictures I took during the walk will be up soon in a separate post. :)

Before I left Matamata, I decided that I have to go for a stroll around the place. Hence, I had a good 2 hours walk up to the Tower and then spent the rest of the day just walking around town (because my legs were so sore from the long walk and I had a sore knee which made it worse). Haha. Nonetheless, I had a really good time just enjoying the scenery around me. The outskirts of the town was mostly farms and gosh, they have one of the loveliest views of nature I can possibly imagine. :)

If given a choice, I wouldn't really mind staying in a serene place like this and be greeted by the sheep every morning from my window. Haha. I love country homes. :)

Here's another picture of how the farm overlooks the mountains ahead. Words just cannot describe how beautiful the place was. It is something that I have always thought exist only in photos and paintings. :)

After a long tiring walk, I finally arrived at the
Firth Tower. :) Firth Tower was built by Auckland
 businessman Josiah Firth after acquiring 56,000 acres
from his friend Wiremu Tamihana, chief of Ngati Haua.
The 18m concrete tower (1882) was a fashionable
 status symbol rather than for defensive purposes.
 It’s filled with Maori and pioneer artefacts and
around it are 10 other historic buildings,
including a schoolroom, church and jail.
It’s 3km east of town. (got these information
from lonely planet)

Firth Tower Museum Entrance.

After the long walk to the Tower, I decided to just walk
 around town to spend the rest of my day in Matamata.
This is the other end of the Centennial Drive. :)

It was the end of winter and beginning of spring when I was there.  The flowers were blooming and these magnolias really looked pretty.

One of the statues situated in the middle of the divider. I think this is quite symbolic of the town because it shows how the whole family is united and I really liked the statue,

Here's another pretty one. :)

A huge landmark welcoming visitors to Matamata. This is found in front of the Matamata Primary School.

I felt really sad to leave Matamata partly because I really liked the place and I did not want to get back to the reality of life where assignments, tests and exams await me. Haha. All the memories I gathered throughout the trip are memories that I will treasure. Especially when my preceptor and everyone there were so nice to me that it did not feel like an alien place to me. :)

Cheers
YM