Hobbiton: LotR Tour #3

Days 3-4: Hobbiton

What better destination for fans of Lord of the Rings than Hobbiton, the movie set that remains in tact even after the completion of the films? Hobbiton is one of the most visited attractions in New Zealand—even by people who know nothing about the movies! We contributed to this statistic by visiting not once, but twice, in part due to bouts of torrential rain on our first visit and in part because there is so much to see! So if you’re ready for a whole lot of movie trivia and beautiful scenery, read on!

The Countryside & Hobbit Holes

Hobbiton is located on a sheep farm in Matamata, New Zealand, chosen because of its perfect combination of rolling hills, little lake, and perfect party tree. After the completion of the Lord of the Rings films, all the hobbit holes were removed so that the land could go back to its original use as a sheep pasture. But since faithful LotR fans continually showed up to visit, when the time came to film the Hobbit series, the reconstruction followed proper architectural procedures in order to make the hobbit holes permanent. 

The hobbit holes vary in scale, from small ones that would fit actual little hobbits, to larger ones that make human actors look hobbit-sized (such as Bag End and the home of Samwise and Rosie). The arrangement and scaling of the holes also makes Hobbiton look more expansive when viewed as a whole.

Incredible ingenuity went into designing the various holes, which all speak to the individual hobbits who could live there. A roadside stand for bread rests outside a baker’s hobbit hole, while a catch of fish and tackle indicates a fisherman living in another. Little windows peep out of the hillsides, as do chimneys with actual smoke. While many of the holes are façades, a couple of the large-scaled hobbit holes actually dig into the ground far enough to allow for entry through the iconic round doors.

The constructors paid attention to every detail, down to adding painted lichen on fence posts to make them look aged or making a gate with a broken crossbar to suggest that hobbits have lived  here for generations. The workers had to invest a great deal of time into making Hobbiton the lush paradise of flowers we see. Five gardeners maintain the countless flowerbeds and even a large vegetable patch at the area’s heart. The director, Peter Jackson, remembered reading about the hobbit children eating plums as the heroes returned home, and had trees planted especially for this reason, though none of them appear in The Return of the King film.

Bag End: The Crown of Hobbiton

Speaking of trees, one of the most significant ones stands atop Bag End at the crown of the hill. Because this tree had to look exactly the same in both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit films produced so many years later, the tree is actually an artificial one constructed of real wood but hand-painted silk leaves. Periodically, as the fabric leaves fade, they must be removed, and thousands of fresh painted leaves are wired onto the tree by hand.

Bag End, with its view overlooking all of Hobbiton (and the surrounding sheep pastures) faces east. In the scene where Gandalf and Bilbo watch the sunset before the birthday bash, the actors were in fact up incredibly early to film the sunrise! Despite the relative distance from the pond at the bottom of the hill, the actors up at Bag End had trouble competing with the volume of croaking frogs, which resulted in a temporary relocation of the amphibians during filming. During our visit, we had the pleasure of also seeing a mother duck and her ducklings in the pond. The well-known moment where Gandalf hits his head on the beam inside Bag End was actually unscripted—a testament to Ian McKellan’s ability to stay in character during a painful unplanned moment!

The Green Dragon & Shire’s Rest

In addition to enjoying the sights and sweet scents of things that grow, visitors to Hobbiton can also enjoy hobbit’s other passions: food and ale. Our tour began at the Shire’s Rest, a café located a short bus ride from the film set on Buckland Road, where we enjoyed the richest hobbit fare: tomato soup with garlic ciabatta, eggs benedict, and scones. Our tour concluded with a visit to the famous Green Dragon Inn, where we enjoyed drinks from charming ceramic cups. The food and drink do not disappoint! Just as the makers of Hobbiton have poured passion into making every visual detail just right for the filming, the staff continue to deliver the best quality of food. When I bit into that meat-and-ale pie with its crisp crust and rich, warm filling, I couldn’t help literally singing for joy.

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Because my sister and I are major fantasy fans fond of dressing up on any occasion—Renaissance Faires, costume parties, you name it—we of course had to wear hobbit garb for our visit. One of our highlights came in the gift shop, where we became part of the attraction when a group of tourists from Asia asked for a picture with us “hobbits.”

The Farmstay

Our travel agency arranged accommodation for us not too far from Hobbiton on a charming farm, which paralleled our visit to the Shire in several ways. Our hostess treated us to a smorgasbord of vegetables and tasty dishes taking up a whole dining table—a feast fit for a hobbit’s palate! In addition to the extensive garden with stunning flowers that could make any hobbit’s green thumb green with envy, our hosts owned pastures for 258 beautiful black-and-white dairy cows. Even though Hobbiton was created from a fantasy, we experienced the real-life wonders of the relaxed, agricultural community in New Zealand, which is truly the perfect place for the Shire.

Hobbiton is a magical place of peace, beauty, and quiet, where the fresh air carries the scent of flowers and the soft baaing of sheep mingles with the whisper of the breeze between the trees. Though there is more to see than can be absorbed in only one visit and more delightful movie trivia than can fit in a single blog post, the true charm of this lovely place is the sense of timeless contentment, where one can celebrate the beauty of a simple life.

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Journey to Middle Earth Series:
Day 1: Living Like Hobbits (Auckland)
Day 2: To Middle Earth and Beyond! (Port Waikato & Hot Water Beach)
Day 3-4: Hobbiton (Matamata)
Day 5: Geothermal Wonderland (Rotorua)
Day 6: The Forests and Rivers of Middle Earth (North Island)
Day 7: Weta Workshop & the Forests of Middle Earth (Wellington)
Day 8: Paths of the Dead (Putangirua Pinnacles)
Day 9: Flight of Fantasy (Wellington & Christchurch)
Day 10: Edoras, Capital of Rohan (Mount Sunday)
Day 11: Lake Pukaki (Laketown)
Days 12-14 part 1: Queenstown (Isengard, Lothlorien, Ithilien, and more!)
Days 12-14 part 2: Queenstown (Argonath, Dimrill Dale, Rohan, and more!)

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