To the Middle Earth

"And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, 

and the sun shone upon her"

- J.R.R. Tolkien

I read Lord of the Rings years before the movie franchise started and until today it remained one of the more memorable books that I have read - not least because of the thickness of the book (all 3 parts crammed into a 1,000+-paged tome). I am a bigger fan of the book than the movie, but still a trip to New Zealand without seeing the Hobbiton movie set would be scandalous. 

I put the eye-watering price of ticket aside and booked ourselves a Hobbiton tour for our first day in the North Island. After sorting out car rental, we drove towards Matamata at around 11am, past endless pastures of various shades of green and countless grazing cows. From Matamata, the "Hobbiton Movie Set Tourist Farm" was well signposted, although I couldn't help getting a different image of a farm of tourists for us to see.

Soon, after around 2 hours on the road, we found ourselves among the rolling hills that were part of the 1,200-acre Alexander family sheep farm. Our first stop was the Shire's Rest Cafe, housed in a converted woolshed. But we got ourselves a prime outdoor seat and had sandwiches and hot drinks with spectacular views of sheep grazing on undulating farmland.

Irf enjoying his first hot chocolate in New Zealand

At 1.50pm, 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the tour, we waited outside the gift shop for a coach to take us on the short ride right to the heart of The Shire. Joining one of the tours is compulsory since you can't simply walk into the Hobbiton set. Hence, that was why we found ourselves being escorted and given briefings by a tour guide. But Dan was not a stuffy tour guide. He was cheerful and enthusiastic - in fact, were it not for his "normal" physical appearance, he would fit in in Hobbiton.

The start of the walking tour

He took us on a leisurely trek through the Hobbiton set, stopping at various places to show and explain how they showed in the movies. I was always the last in the group - that way I could take pictures without having other people in the frame. Irf, on the other hand, insisted to be in front just behind Dan, saying that he was on an adventure. I had to call him back many times just so that I could take pictures of him.

I learned that most of the hobbit holes were just facades - you could only step into one hobbit hole, that the the giant oak tree on top of Bag End was fake with painted silk leaves and all and that you could possibly turn a pumpkin into a carriage, judging by the size of those that we saw.

Above: Bag End, home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins
Below: Visiting time in Hobbiton

Samwise Gamgee lived here

Hobbiton was too pretty for words. It was also the small details that made everything so magical - the hobbit-sized clothing pegged to the clothes line, the mini jars of honey outside a hobbit hole, the cabbage patches, the well-tended vegetable gardens complete with real pumpkins and squash displayed on a rustic table. It was all so surreal. Big respect to the props team and those who work to maintain the site.

Laundry day hobbit-style

  "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit"

And then it was time to make our way to the Green Dragon Inn. We walked through a small wooded area, on to the double arched bridge across The Water, past Sandyman's Old Mill to the courtyard of the Inn strung with garlands of buntings and lanterns.

The Old Mill of Hobbiton

In the Inn, there were 2 choices of complimentary drinks that came with the ticket price - ale/cider or non-alcoholic ginger beer. We claimed the latter and had our break within the cosy, dimly-lit timber structure. There were hobbit clothes hung on a hook if you ever feel the need to dress like one.

The day Irf fell in love with ginger beer

The tour ended after approximately 2 hours. Did an obligatory browse at the gift shop and then it was the eastward 50-minutes drive towards Tauranga at Bay of Plenty where our lodging for the night await. Alas, it was not a hobbit hole.

Note:

Hobbiton address: 501 Buckland Rd, Hinuera, Matamata 3472

Entrance fees: NZD79, free for children below 9 years