Down the Hobbit hole

Day 164 – Rotorua, New Zealand

Hobbits! Actually, there wasn’t any, but I’ve seen plenty of houses, clothes, and accessories.

Let’s track back a bit. Today was the day I visited Hobbiton, the place that was the set for the Hobbits’ village in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. To be accurate, they built the set a first time with temporary materials, took everything off when they were done with TLOTR, and came back for The Hobbit asking if they could rebuild it. (The land belongs to a local farmer.)

Hobbiton

The local farmer, knowing a good things when he sees it (and having numerous visitors asking to see the pastures where a few remains still where visible), negotiated for the village to be built permanently, and to open it for tours after the shooting.

And that is what I went to see today!

Hobbiton

(Anecdote: since Hobbiton is in the top three things to see in New Zealand, they get visitors who haven’t seen the movie or read the book, and who nod along when the guide waxes enthusiastically about where Frodo meets Gandalf and his cart or where the children asked Gandalf for fireworks.)

The weather was cooperating stunningly (I still managed to complain because too much light creates too strong shadows, but I would have been more disappointed to get a cloudy sky, or Heaven forfend rain! so I didn’t really mean it).

Hobbiton

So we followed a guide along rolling hills, from round door to round door, looking at perfectly maintained small gardens, cute house fronts, clotheslines with Hobbit garb, and we ended the tour at the Green Dragon with a free drink (they do have cider, though even a half-pint was strong for me and I felt the effect back in the bus!).

Hobbiton – The Green Dragon

All the pictures are available in the gallery Lord of the Rings!

I updated the article about my experience of the War Memorial Museum in Auckland, check it out below!