Hobbiton, November 24, 2025

 Today was our Hobbiton Day! 

There we are - in the Shire

 We generally avoid "tourist trap" things, but had been told this one would be worth it. We were lucky to get tickets because they were almost sold out and we had to get one that included lunch - of course a bit more expensive. And, what a wonderful day we had!

 

 Hobbiton is a short distance from Matamata. The day was beautiful with blue skies and puffy white clouds. It was a trifle too hot when we were walking in the sun. We took umbrellas to provide shade, a first for us. But, we are glad that we had them.

   The first thing we did was to board a bus which drove us through the 1250 acre Alexander farm to the part of the farm that has preserved the movie set.

The bulk of the farm is still used for agriculture with 14 acres set aside for Hobbiton.  

     Director Peter Jackson scouted the site for The Lord of the Rings. The first sets were built in 1998-99. They were built to be temporary and most disappeared, were dismantled or disintegrated. 

    The sets were rebuilt in 2010 for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. 

   The site has been expanded since the movies were made and more added. There are now 44 Hobbit Holes on view with two homes recently added for people to walk through. The tour group split into two, with half going through one of them. Our part of the group explored the Proudfoot bungalow where you are allowed to lie in the beds, sit in the chairs etc. 

   

Inside the Proudfoot home

Our tour took about 3.5 hours because we signed on for lunch, which was at The Green Dragon at the end of the 1.5 mile walking tour through the village.

   

It is all beautifully done. Our tour guide was a knowledgeable, self-proclaimed Tolkien nerd.

She talked about his humble beginnings and the effect World War One had on him. She said that he had based Samwise Gamgee on the brave and loyal privates and "batmen" who he served with in the trenches when he was an officer. 

Eating hearty Hobbit food at the Green Dragon

    She explained that New Zealand's farms have to commit to native plantings. The farm has planted 22,000 native trees since the set opened with more planted each year. 

   She told us that 40% of the visitors have never seen the films...and even fewer have read any of the books. But, it is promoted as one of the top sights to see in New Zealand, so....

   As a side note, Mark re-read The Hobbit this week to remind him of the story.

 

  Jess told a lot of interesting tidbits about the filming, most of which we quickly forgot.  But, one of them involved the "Party Tree" above the Baggins house. It was important in the first film and it had to be replicated in the consequent ones. But, as that tree had been brought in from Matamata, it was not possible as it had been taken away. (never planted). Peter Jackson insisted that it be replicated. It is made of plastic and steel etc. The leaves (over 300,000!) were made of silk and imported from Taiwan. But, with a ten-month delay in the filming, the leaves had completely faded. So, they were taken down and, in four days, 8 people repainted them and put them back on the false tree. The tree was shown for 10 seconds on the film! It still looks remarkably real, by the way.

    Our guide told us that there are six thatched buildings in all of New Zealand with five of them being in Hobbiton.

    The flowers are gorgeous, especially as it is now full-blown spring. They site itself is simply beautiful with the green hills in the background.

   

Mark outside The Green Dragon

It is an overdose of cuteness!

    We were with an international crowd of interesting people and we had lunch with two young men from Houston - one an attorney; the other an engineer.

    We did not expect much from the lunch, but it was actually excellent with lots of choices from hearty-stews, vegetarian options, salads and a lot of desserts. We both ate way too much!

Maybe a little bit bigger than a Hobbit?

Barbara at Bilbo's writing desk