Bilbo's house

Sam's house

under the party tree looking over to the lake, mill and pub

by Bilbo's house

Saturday 24th March. Up at 6am to catch the 6.40 bus to New Lynn followed by another bus to Britomart. I had booked a day tour to Hobbiton with Red Carpet Tours and was very excited. I was picked up by Vic who runs the tour company with his wife Raewyn. Vic and Raewyn are die hard LOTR fans and specialise in 12 day tours going everywhere in New Zealand where LOTR was filmed and even staying in the hotels the actors stayed in. There were only 3 of us on the tour as we picked up two girls on holiday from Peru and Australia too. Hobbiton is in Matamata which is just over a two hour drive away from Auckland. It was an interesting drive through some really remote rural countryside. As we were going up the lane to the Hobbiton farm Vic put on the Shire music which was hilarious. We arrived and looked around the shop and then went to the Shire’s rest cafe for tea and coffee. The actual film set is a kilometre away from the cafe and shop so we left Vic in the cafe and departed for the actual Hobbiton tour on a full bus. When we arrived on set we got off the bus and were able to walk around while the Hobbiton guide told us facts. It was so beautiful with white butterflies and flowers everywhere. It was a lot smaller than I imagined and the camera angles obviously make it look a lot bigger. There were about 45 hobbit holes. They had no rooms behind the doors except Sam’s and Bilbo’s hobbit holes which had small rooms behind them so the actors could go inside and close the doors. We saw the green dragon pub, the mill, the party tree where Bilbo gives his birthday speech, the party field where the hobbits celebrate Bilbo’s birthday, the lake, Bilbo and Sam’s house. Unfortunately we weren’t able to go right up to the pub and mill but we were able to take photos from across the lake. Vic later told us that they’re going to make the green dragon pub on the set into an actual pub. Our guide told us that Hobbiton was originally going to be dismantled but a storm prevented them from doing so and after the storm they decided not to bother. We were also told funny stories about people who came to Hobbiton dressed as elves, hobbits and wizards. One 7ft man apparently came dressed as a hobbit and refused to leave stating that it was his home. Going around the set took about an hour and a half but I wished we had longer. After the tour we got back on the bus and had lunch with Vic in the shire’s rest as part of the red carpet package. He told us that they had finished filming for the new Hobbit film in November and the cast were now down in the South Island. Vic was so knowledgeable and I’d love to come back to NZ and do their 12 day tour which looks amazing. I didn’t want to leave Hobbiton but I had a great day which I will remember for a long time.