Hobbiton

Hobbiton

“I’m going on an adventure!” – Bilbo Baggins

And to get to our adventure, we stepped aboard a coach at the tourist office in Matamata. Our driver, who had the rare privilege of being an extra in the films, provided commentary, and so did Peter Jackson, although he spoke to us through a TV screen at the front of the coach.

Peter Jackson chose the movie set after he spotted features similar to those described in the book when flying over by helicopter on a scouting trip. The pilot landed at the Alexander farm, Peter Jackson got out, spoke to the farmer, and the deal was done. After the Lord of the Rings film was finished, the set was torn down, and pastoral calm was restored.

Then, over ten years later, for the Hobbit film, the farmer shrewdly suggested that they partner and make the set into a permanent exhibition—Hobbiton. That must have made the farmer a financially happy man. On average, Hobbiton receives 550,000 visitors per year. At 120 NZD per adult ticket, that’s got to be better than milking cows.

One of Hobbiton’s latest improvements is opening up two of the houses to visitors. You can look inside, touch the exhibits, sit on the chairs and have a lie down if you want to. Anything that is nickable is screwed down, though.

And included in the tour is a beer at the Green Dragon Inn

And that was it – a brilliant day out. Then it was back to the bus, then a drive towards Whangarei via Hamilton Gardens.