Welcome to magical Hobbiton

The next destination on our journey through the North Island was Matamata, much better known as Hobbiton =D, as this was the filming location for the scenes in the beautiful Shire, the home of the hobbits, for both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit series. The set, created with absolute attention to detail by director Peter Jackson, was preserved completely after the filming of the Hobbit films and is accessible to tourists.

However, the tour must be booked in advance, as a visit otherwise might be difficult and involve long waiting times. We booked the tour by phone the day before at 1:00 p.m. since we had over a 2-hour journey ahead of us, and we just had to be there on time for check-in. The set is located on the Alexander Farm in the middle of the North Island and was chosen as the filming location for Hobbiton in 1998. After the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the set was completely dismantled, and it was only with the filming of the Hobbit series in 2009 that the 39 hobbit holes, the mill, and the Green Dragon were reconstructed and built sustainably over a period of 2 years. However, the filming itself only took 12 days.

The tour, however, is not exactly cheap at 79 NZD, but in our opinion, it is definitely worth it. It includes a bus transfer to the film set, a super funny guide in our case, and a beer or cider at the end of the 2-hour tour through the Shire in the famous Green Dragon. During the tour, we learned many background information and details from our guide, and even for non-Lord-of-the-Rings fans, the tour and the film set have a lot to offer, not least the atmosphere of the magical and unique Hobbiton...