We didn’t actually have our hearts set on visiting Hobbiton, but it was probably the number one place people asked if we would go when they learned we were heading to New Zealand. So when we were planning the days leading up to our time near that area, we figured we might as well include it in our itinerary.
Hobbiton is located a few hours south of Auckland in an area filled with beautiful rolling grassy hills with lots of dairy and sheep farms. The night before our visit, we stayed in an Airbnb room on a dairy farm and had dinner in the town of Matamata – a place that was pretty unknown before Lord of the Rings movie tourism started. Hobbiton itself is on a sheep farm and is really scenic, as you would expect the Shire to be. The tours of the movie set are very well organized and run, and we learned quite a few little factoids as we toured through the village. For example, there are now around 13-16 full time staff that are dedicated to the upkeep of the sets; they maintain the grass and gardens, light the coals to keep the chimneys smoking, hang out the laundry and make sure everything is looking its best for visitors all year round. We were impressed by the number of small details that are looked after, and it was a lot of fun to learn about the set — check out the captions on the photos for some of those details!
A lovely little hobbit holeThey had hobbit holes at various sizes, so that actors would look taller or shorter. For example, hobbits would stand next to a larger hobbit hole so that they look short.You can just barely see the clothesline above the roof of this hobbit hole. Two weeks before filming started, staff had to start hanging the laundry out each morning and taking it in each evening so that a natural path would start to form in the grass to make it look realistic.The flowers were abundant when we were there in spring, but they work hard to keep something blooming all year round.The frogs in the pond were so loud that they had to stop filming and catch them all and take them out. I actually thought it was an overdone recording when I first heard them on our tour.The little fruit trees on the right side are pear/apple, but in the books, they are supposed to be plum trees, so they put on fake fruit and leaves for filming.Looking out past Hobbiton at the sheep farmBag End, where Bilbo and Frodo lived. The tree above was under reconstruction while we were there; it was a real tree for the Lord of the Rings but then died and had to be recreated for the Hobbit movies.Bag End front door - only the outside shots were filmed at this location, so there were no insides of the hobbit holes. Those were all created as indoor sets in Wellington.Looking down at the party field where Bilbo's 111th birthday party was heldThe party tree near the lake - this was one of the main reasons the location was chosen for the ShireSo many flowers!There were props outside a lot of the hobbit holes to show what kind of hobbit lived there, like a cheesemonger :)Hobbits seems to need to transport very large pumpkinsThe path to the Green DragonOutside the Green DragonOur tour ended with a free beer at the Green Dragon - this was an exact replica of the real set where they filmed in WellingtonThey are in the midst of reconstructing the millhouseLooking back across the lake at Hobbiton
You mean people asking you to go bungee jumping wasn’t #1? I’ve failed.
Hey Elisse. You should go bungee jumping.
Pretty! I felt the same way but am all excited now.
Also. Bungee jumping.
I feel like I was there myself after looking at all these pics! So jealous!