The
Shire, better known as Hobbiton
WAIKATO
|
By
Richard Moore
Pictures of Hobbiton
Take
a Tour to Hobbiton
Deluxe
Middle Earth Filming Locations
Wellington
Lord of the Rings Location Tour
One
of the things The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movie fans want to do in New Zealand is visit as many sites
from the films as they can.
Many
are unrecognisable, but just outside Matamata in the Waikato
region of the North Island lies an unmistakeable piece of
movie history - The Shire.
When
you take the trip out to Hobbiton you instantly see this
is the real thing and if you don't spot recognisable bits
of scenery - then the hobbit holes, gardens, village huts
and stone bridge will jog your memory.
Originally
the hobbit holes were not the beautifully kept homes of
the little creatures with the big hairy feet, but are the
facades that were left after filming.
Now
visitors to Hobbiton get to see the improved village given
a revamp for The Hobbit complete with gardens, tools, little
hobbit tools, window dressings and wildly overgrown laneways.
The
makeover makes Hobbiton much more interesting to visit and
in the future you may even be able to eat and drink at the
Green Dragon pub. I'm
looking forward to that!
In
the meantime Hobbiton HQ has The Shire's Rest Cafe to ease
any hunger pangs.
The
site of The Shire set is about 20 minutes out of Matamata
on a private farm owned by Ian Alexander.
The
story of how his land was chosen is rather amusing - as
is the fact that this piece of prime sheep-producing country
had to have its flock removed and more-Shire-looking sheep
introduced.
There
is also the funny tale of how the landowner tested the wood,
plywood and foam-brick bridge with his ute ...
You'll
have to take the tour to find out the results.
Anyway,
apart from the set gossip you can see and touch the wonderful
Party Tree, which is all natural and not computer generated.
It is an amazing piece of nature, no doubt and it is to
the relief of all that Ian Alexander didn't chop it down
as he had thought about doing!!!!!!!
The
Hobbiton Movie Set and Farm Yours have also added in a Woolshed
and sheep shearing demonstration that includes bottle feeding
of lambs.
Matamata
is a two-hour drive south of Auckland and about 40 minutes
from both Hamilton and Tauranga. Click to book hotels in Hamilton or Tauranga.
Departure
Times
The two-hour tours of the Hobbiton movie set depart at 9.50am,
11.05am, 12.20pm, 1.35pm and 2.50pm each day. Extended tour
departure times: 4.05pm (excludes May to September).
Bookings
are recommended.
Contact
Details
Rings Scenic Tours
Phone 07 888 9913
Fax 07 888 9982
Email: office@hobbitontours.com
