Hobbiton: A Day in the Shire

Despite the fact I fell asleep the first time I tried to watch “Return of the King,” visiting the Hobbiton Movie Set here in New Zealand was on the top of my “to do” list for this part of the world. Unfortunately, it took me almost the entire year to get here! A lot of this had to do with timing and cost but was eventually able to go thanks to a gift from my family, and a new friend.

The good news: It was worth the wait.

In case you don’t know: Hobbiton is the movie set where they filmed scenes for the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” movie series. Both are based on fantasy books written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

While I have since rewatched the entire “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed them, you don’t have to have seen any of the movies or read any of the books to enjoy a trip to Hobbiton. In fact, the tour guide told us about 40% of visitors have no experience with Tolkien in any form. While I personally enjoyed nerding out, the set is simply a really fun place to see and experience.

You can’t get on the grounds on your own; everyone must take a guided tour. But don’t worry, the tour guides are a lot of fun and full of facts to share about the movie filming and production.

Some of my favorite facts I learned about the set and the films:

• Almost all of the plants on set are real. (Including the giant pumpkins!)
• In the books, Tolkien references how hobbit children spend their days playing under the plum trees. However, plum trees didn’t fit the aesthetic of the set and don’t grow naturally in New Zealand. So, the set artists spent hours making an apple tree look like a plum tree for filming. The tree only made it into one scene.
• Peter Jackson initially had picked out 12 different shooting locations in New Zealand for Hobbiton. He scraped all of those locations once finding the Alexander Farm near Matamata where the set is now permanently constructed.

• The set that stands there isn’t actually the one that was used to film anything from “Lord of the Rings.” That was torn down after filming was done. However, trips to The Shire were so popular after the series hit theatres that they decided to make it out of durable, long-lasting materials when it was time to film “The Hobbit.”
• The Hobbit Holes are all different sizes. The small ones were built to make the actors playing wizards look tall, and the big ones were built for the actors playing Hobbits.
• During filming for “Lord of the Rings” the scene where the Green Dragon burns down is actual footage of the set burning.

Things to know before you go:

• The tour starts at one of three places: The Shire’s Rest Cafe, the Matamata I-Site, and the Rotorua I-Site. The Rotorua option is quite a bit more expensive than the other two, as they are busing you in from almost an hour away.
• If you don’t do the Shire’s Rest option, you will not see that cafe and gift shop. However, all tours include a free drink at The Green Dragon pub from the films and a visit to the gift shop on the set grounds.
• Each tour is on a very strict time schedule, so you won’t get to spend too much time on set, in The Green Dragon or in the gift shop.
• The bus rides include specially-made videos that include interviews with director Peter Jackson and the family that owns the farm the set is on. They also include clips from “The Hobbit” films.
• The tour guides are happy to snap photos for you, so don’t worry about not getting photos of your adventure if you go alone if you go alone!

Amiekay’s Personal Advice:

• I really recommend stopping in the town of Matamata if you can, as the town has really embraced its Tolkien-themed tourism industry. The I-Site, for instance, is modeled after a Hobbit Hole, and there are places with Hobbit-themed food and names, such as “Hobbit Sushi.”

• If you have a car, get your tour to leave from The Shire’s Rest. I am a bit bummed I didn’t get to check out this Hobbit-themed cafe.
• The entire set is “nerd-friendly.” The tour guide invited us to re-enact the scene where Bilbo runs down the street yelling “I’m going on an adventure.” While I didn’t actually do it, I was extremely tempted.