Hobbiton

Our last day in Taupo, and we drove out towards Matamata, where the now-permanent film set used as Hobbiton in The Hobbit trilogy was filmed. After the LOTR trilogy the set was dismantled, in line with the film company’s contractual obligations, and the land returned to its previous use as a sheep farm. “Why not keep it this time?” they thought, as many of the tourists who’d visited New Zealand on the LOTR trail were confronted with what was, essentially, a hillside, and told “this is where they filmed Hobbiton”. When Peter Jackson started making the Hobbit trilogy, Hobbiton was rebuilt, but this time using permanent materials instead of the plywood, polystyrene and scaffolding used in the first set, with the express purpose of keeping the site open as a tourist attraction.

With our natural flair for organisation, we managed to get split up on the road, with one party going straight on to Hobbiton whilst the other headed into Matamata itself, and re-booked the tour so that we could take the bus transfer from the i-Site to the Shire’s Rest. There we managed to meet up with the second car and all ventured in to Hobbiton together.

The i-Site at Matamata

Our tour was a guided one, and our guide was Amanda; as soon as we spoke to her we could tell she was no Kiwi. “No, I came here on a work visa, and saw this job advertised, and got it! I’ve been working here for 6 weeks now!” She hailed from somewhere grim-up North England, and was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about all things LOTR and Hobbit-y. As we walked among the holes she told about the construction and filming. The holes are of different sizes to allow use for differential perspective to make Gandalf, for example, appear much taller than the hobbits. Some are ¾ sized, and one is full-sized. Also, most of them do not extend beyond the door – there is no actual construction inside the hill. Bilbo’s hole, Bag End, does have a room behind the door as this is the door most commonly seen in the films with people going in and out. All the interiors, naturally, are shot here in Wellington.

We've put in an offer on this one

Also of note with Bilbo’s hole is the conundrum of the oak tree. This was originally moved from elsewhere in Matamata (presumably dying in the process) to be above Bilbo’s hole, as per the book, in LOTR. However, the events of The Hobbit take place 60 years before LOTR…what to do? The tree was removed and replaced with an entirely fake tree, built at Weta Workshops, with thousands of leaves created by hand attached to the branches, to make it look 60 years younger. This level of detail is apparent throughout the site…many of the holes don’t ever appear in the film, but are there anyway. Apparently, New Line Cinema have the right to come back and use the site for any further films they may decide to make. (72-part adaptation of The Silmarillion, anyone?)

At the end of the tour we ended up at The Green Dragon, Hobbiton’s pub, and were offered a selection of beers, cider, or ginger beer. Sadly, with the car keys in my pocket, I had to opt for the ginger beer. Again, the detail in the interior is, er, detailed! Every last thing is thought of, even the emergency exit signs!

We exited via the gift shop and café before 4 of us headed back to Matamata by bus whilst the rest came by car. We met up again at the i-Site and handed over the Cummings to the care of their friends from Auckland. We then drove ourselves to spend the night in Turangi, and thence to Wellington the next day.