Hobbiton

POSTED BY SOPH

For some childish reason I've been looking forward to our visit to the Hobbiton set in Matamata since we booked our NZ trip. I'd seen it as one of the highlights. Being a huge JRRT, LOTR and Sir Peter fan, I wanted Hobbiton to be good, really good. And for me, at least, it didn't disappoint (see the next blog post for thoughts from Si The Cynic).

Matamata nestles in green rolling hills dotted with tall poplar like trees. Sir Peter had 12 locations teed up for Hobbiton, to use as a cut and paste job, until he found Matamata. On seeing the Party Tree from a helicopter, he promptly cancelled all 12 and brought a living breathing Shire to life in a sheep farm (yes! Sheep!).

The legacy keeps the Alexander family (who own the land) in gazillions as up to 3,000 tourists a day take pics of the 44 hobbit holes, all reconstructed in durable materials for filming The Hobbit as the set had been dismantled after the LOTR. 

And what beautiful little hobbitsy holes there are...

Our guide, Dan The Man, used Maddie and a tall guy to explain false perspective. Here's the result - small hobbit, large Gandalf, next to a hole sized at 60% 

Maddie and Dan got on so well she was rewarded with a fake leaf from the oak tree on top of Bag End. Yes that tree is entirely man made, down to each of it's 200,000 leaves (mental, Sir P, just mental). Can you tell?

After gazing at the holes, marvelling at the real fruit n veg they tend in the real hobbit gardens, we walked over the bridge to sup at The Green Dragon. This was built by the canny Alexanders to add to the tourist experience. We weren't fleeced as the beer was free (well included in the price of the ticket). 

All in all a fantastic experience. I'm happy as a hobbit after second breakfast, lunch, and tea.