‘It’s a dangerous business…going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.’
Bilbo Baggins, Lord of the Rings
–
With a little luck, you will find yourself swept off to the north island of New Zealand, somewhere near Hamilton with a ticket to visit Hobbiton!
Hobbiton Movie Set Tours give you the chance to see the only set from the Lord of the Rings movies that hasn’t been demolished. They’re interesting, fun, and there’s some ale in it for you too!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOBBITON
There’s so much hype surrounding the Lord of the Rings films and the recent release of the first Hobbit movie that a trip to New Zealand doesn’t feel complete without a stop off in one of the films’ locations. Throughout the country there are themed tours that take you to the exact spots where certain scenes were filmed, but the only set still standing is Hobbiton.
Hobbiton lies a little southeast of Hamilton in a small town called Matamata. When Peter Jackson was performing an aerial search for the perfect location of the Shire, he spotted the Alexander farm, with its rolling hills and a small, well-positioned lake. A good few months later, construction of the Shire began. It actually transpired that the farm’s lake was man-made and had been built by the farm owner for duck shooting. When the ducks kept flying away, the farmer thought it had been a waste of effort, but it’s doubtful he regrets his decision to build it now.
HOBBITON TOURS
Hobbiton tours leave from the ‘Shire’s Rest Café’ on Buckland Road every 30 minutes between 9:30 and 3:30 and last roughly 2 hours. There’s a big car park but transfers can also be arranged from Matamata or Rotorua. Although the café isn’t designed with any scene from the movie in mind – as some people mistakenly expect – it makes for a great spot to grab some tasty, inexpensive brunch.
Our tour guide was Fred and he kept us thoroughly entertained throughout our visit, from the moment he told us he’d been hired as a tour guide after interviewing for what he thought was a farm work position!
HOW THE ALEXANDER FARM CAME TO BE HOBBITON
Fred explained that it had taken 8 months for the production company to draw up a contract with the farm owners. One of the stipulations had been that the set be dismantled after filming had ceased. It actually rained so much after the third Lord of the Rings movie finished production that this was delayed and, instead, an agreement came about to allow public tours of the set.
Although visitors are permitted to dress up as characters from the films (and this happens on quite a regular basis!) the contract states that they are not allowed to re-enact scenes from the movie. Smoking is also not permitted, and the staff have had to have a quiet word with more than one pipe-smoking Gandalf wannabe.
During filming, 3 vets were brought over from the States to look after 20 different species of animals. Peter Jackson’s attention to detail was so marked that he considered the 13,000 resident sheep to look ‘too modern’. They were moved out of shot and in their place 39 stunt sheep of a more ‘old-fashioned-looking’ breed were imported from the UK!
The only animal we got to meet was Pickles the rescued cat, with which it was reported Peter Jackson had a love/hate relationship because he kept getting in the way. Today, he follows tour groups as they look around.
Fred told us that there were currently talks about listing each of the hobbit holes as an official property and putting them on the market. While there isn’t much behind each door – they look like empty sheds on the inside – it’s possible to enter all of the hobbit holes and there’s no doubt there are some fanatics out there who would cough up a lot of money to own one.
WHO VISITS HOBBITON
This year, in January and February alone, 50,000 tourists passed through Hobbiton. Of these, about 35% had never even seen the films but said that they had come with a fan or to make family and friends ‘extremely jealous’.
You don’t have to have seen the movies to enjoy the tour, but if you can picture where specific scenes were shot it definitely adds to the excitement.
Some very dedicated fans occasionally give the tour guides a hard time, quizzing them about the finer details of the movies and the books, and trying to catch them out. Fred told us that there had even been one woman who had believed that hobbits actually existed and was surprised not to find them living in Hobbiton. He said she cried when she learned they weren’t real. So, let that be a warning to those of you with an overactive imagination…
TOP 10 TRICKS OF THE HOBBITON TRADE
1. PERSPECTIVE
The tour begins with a stroll down Gandalf Cutting, which is actually a very narrow path. They used a pony to make the path and Gandalf seem bigger. There are also doors of different sizes so that Gandalf could be filmed outside smaller doors and the hobbits outside bigger ones, to make them appear to be hugely different in height.
2. FRESH PRODUCE
Five full-time gardeners worked on set producing fruit and vegetables that are still sold in the Shire’s Rest Café.
3. STICKY PLUMS
The book describes the Shire as having a pear tree, an apple tree and a plum tree. Since no plum tree had been present on the farm, Peter Jackson had considered planting one, but they’re larger in size and this wouldn’t have looked to scale. Instead, he planted another pear tree, stripped it and had plums attached individually. During filming, shots were frequently spoiled by plums falling to the ground.
4. FROG SILENCING
Shots for Lord of the Rings were also interrupted due to noisy frogs in the pond. When filming for the Hobbit was about to commence, these frogs were all relocated.
5. FAKERY
The tree behind Bag End is not real. Each of the 200,000 leaves had to be constructed and individually attached. Once assembled, Peter Jackson decided that the shade of the leaves was not quite right and employed someone to work for 15 hours a day for 10 days painting each and every one of them.
6. ATTENTION TO DETAIL
The sunset shot had to be done at sunrise because of the direction the hobbit holes face. The whole scene was shot in reverse and cast members had to be up at 2:30 am. When a distant barn was spotted in the shot, they had to redo the entire scene.
7. MAN POWER
One man was employed to run between each of the residences lighting bee’s wax so that smoke was emitted from each of the chimneys.
8. WOMAN POWER
A lady was employed to walk repeatedly along specific routes and hang and take down washing so that the footpaths looked naturally worn.
9. MAKE UP
The moss around the hobbit holes is made from a mixture of paint, woodchip, glue and yoghurt.
10. BREW YOUR OWN
For the filming of Bilbo’s 111th birthday party, the cast members were supplied with real alcohol. However, some fell ill and one or two collapsed on camera, so they created a new beer called SobeRing Thought, brewed exclusively for the crew. It’s only 1% alcohol and you can buy some in the gift shop!
FANCY A PINT?
The Green Dragon Inn was only opened in December 2012 and is an exact reproduction of the one that featured in the Lord of the Rings movies.
The tour now ends with a stop off in the pub where you receive an old-fashioned tumbler of ale, cider or non-alcoholic ginger beer. If you’ve arrived in winter, there’s a roaring fire to warm up by too – the perfect end to a fascinating afternoon.
GETTING TO MATAMATA
If you have a car, head for the Shire’s Rest Cafe on Buckland Road. Intercity Buses provide services to Matamata from the following popular destinations (rough times in brackets; may require bus transfer with wait): Hamilton (1 hour); Rotorua (1 hour); Taupo (3 hours +); Auckland (3 hours +) and Wellington (9 hours +). They also run day tour with their Great Sights service:
I was a guest of Hobbiton Movie Set Tours. They did not request that I write a favourable review and all of the opinions expressed here are my own.
You can follow my Kiwi adventures on Twitter via the hashtag #ScaredBritless or check out my Facebook updates here. For more information about travelling in New Zealand, visit 100% Pure New Zealand.
An experience I hope to have sometime soon! Looks like you had a great time visiting the Shire :)
Beth recently posted..Foto Friday: Clock Tower, Hong Kong
It was really good fun. I really enjoyed learning all about the difficulties of filming there, and the ale was a highlight too! I hope you have a great time there!
I love this place and would be excited to visit one day! I’m such a fan of the movie and the scenery in the movie!
Christine recently posted..The Ghetty Centre: is it worth going?
Yes, the movies are great and they really inspire you to want to visit New Zealand. There are a lot of tours across the country that take you to some of the areas where specific scenes were filmed so you get to see stunning scenery and mess around re-enacting scenes and pretending you’re a hobbit!
amagad the green dragon is open now?!
I loved that tour – glad to see you’re having so much fun in NZ! And awesome that you got to visit the pub – I was on the set 2 weeks before it opened. Wah-wah!
Christina recently posted..Foley Towers budget accommodation in Christchurch
Oh no!! That’s unfortunate timing! Perhaps you’ll have to go back to experience it…
Yep! Only just though. It makes for a very relaxing end to the tour. I really enjoyed my ale!
The village is so cool, I visited it a few years back and it was so much fun seeing the place. It is ridiculous how much effort they have put into building it, and it shows!
Jarmo recently posted..Ostend and the Sea
It’s a shame you didn’t get to experience the Green Dragon when you were there! Yes, it definitely shows that they put a lot of effort in. It must have been really interesting for the farm owners to see it being built.
Wow pretty fascinating insight into this movie set that I didn’t even know existed.
I can imagine there are some die-hard fans that ask some really difficult questions, can see them now wearing their Frodo costumes. The woman that spent her afternoon looking for actual hobbits sounds quite disturbing.
Iain Mallory recently posted..How to Insult Foreigners
I was a bit disappointed that our group didn’t have any die hard fans or hobbit believers! That would have been special!
Oh I would love to visit the set. Can you actually go inside the little hobbit houses? They are so cute! The pub looks awesome as well. I can see myself having a pint or two in there.
TammyOnTheMove recently posted..Zeche Zollverein – From coal mine to hip world heritage site
Yep, right inside the holes! There’s not much to see on the inside. Any indoor shots were done in the studio. But it’s cool that the doors work and the holes are hollowed out! The pub is really cosy. Made me miss the proper ‘old man’ pubs back in the UK!
I would love to visit a movie set! I’ll bookmark your New Zealand posts. A cousin of mine promised he’ll invite me there once he is settled with his new job there hehe :D
Micamyx|Senyorita recently posted..Rainy Night at Covent Garden – London, UK
Thanks! I hope you get to visit soon. It’s a fantastic country. And if he doesn’t invite you over, I’d say come here anyway and stay in hostels :)
i would like to visit new zealand this year on July, but i want to know if i can enjoy traveling there ( because i´m worried about the climate conditions, since there will be winter), specially i want to visit the ranch with the Hobbiton movie set and the glowworm caves, do you think the weather on that season can cancel those plans?
Hi Ana! I visited New Zealand twice and it was July both times. I absolutely loved it. You’re right that the weather isn’t as good. It rained a bit on the North Island and it was really cold around Wanaka and Queenstown. But I still had a fantastic time as there’s so much to get involved in and the scenery is beautiful all year round. If you specifically want to do Hobbiton and the caves, I think Hobbiton is great whenever you go. It rained on us and we carried around big umbrellas that they handed to us. We still enjoyed the experience and learned loads of interesting facts and our guide was really funny. It also meant we appreciated the cosy pub at the end a bit more! The Waitomo caves can get flooded when it rains a lot, so that might be an issue. This happened to me the first time I was there so we had to do the Odyssey instead of the Abyss. On the Odyssey, you don’t get to black water raft, but it’s still a great experience. They’re a fantastic company and they go out of their way to not let anyone down. They also have a fantastic sense of humour. If you’re flexible with travel, you can try to time visiting the caves when it hasn’t rained for a while. You can also call the office and ask their opinions on how likely it is the tours will go ahead. They keep a close eye on water levels and forecasts. You could also look at other things to see and do in the area that aren’t weather dependent – just in case. Rafting and sledging in Rotorua was awesome and actually more exciting when the water level’s higher. I honestly think you’ll have a great time regardless of what time of year you go. I hope so anyway! :)
Hi! I have 1 day in Auckland and I want to do a Hobbiton tour. Which company do you recommend? I tried the Great Sights tour with Waitomo included but they don’t have it for that day.
My priority is Hobbiton though.
Any advice is appreciated
Hi Diego! I’m not sure how much help I can be I’m afraid. I visited Hobbiton in a hire car with my sister, who lives in Auckland. You could do the same if you have a drivers licence and there are no tours running. It should take 2 hours or 2.5 depending on traffic, so it’s doable in one day. This part of the Hobbiton website might also be useful: http://www.hobbitontours.com/AboutUs/Transfers/tabid/85/Default.aspx
I hope you have an amazing time!
Great article I should say. We will also be visiting NZ on the 1st week of July and based on your pictures, it was all green (I was thinking of snow due to it being winter). Would you recommend going on solo tour instead of booking a guided tour? Also what other places in NZ do you recommend to visit? Thanks
Hi Erol. Yes, there’s a lot of greenery even in winter, although you can easily find snow if you head to the mountains/glaciers, and loads of people come over for skiing and snowboarding in July. It’s really down to personal preference how you travel. I enjoyed the independence of backpacking and travelling solo (which also works out cheaper). Having said that, you might find this approach to be a bit lonely. There are some fun organisations with guided bus tours, especially for the younger traveller (i.e., Kiwi Experience or Contiki), and they’re a brilliant way to ensure you meet people while taking the stress out of organising everything yourself. As for where I recommend, I’ve covered a lot of NZ on my blog so you should have a read through. Both islands have so much in the way of nature, culture and great experiences you can’t go far wrong. I really like the north coast of the South Island, as well as Queenstown. On the north island, there’s lots to see around Rotorua and I loved the Black Water Rafting in the Waitomo Caves too.
Hi, we are off to Hobbiton this week and my daughter wants to take photos with the sun shining on the doors. Do you know which time of day would be best for this?
Hi Hayley. Sadly, when I was there, there wasn’t much sun at all! You should fare better doing it in the summer though. While I don’t know the answer to your question based on personal experience, I did find the following article which should help. These bloggers recommend the morning because ‘the lighting is better’ and there’s no denying their photos are amazing! —> http://www.earthtrekkers.com/hobbiton-photo-tour/ I hope you both have a wonderful tour!