TIPS FOR VISITING HOBBITON (TOUR)

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NOTICE! This post contains a high dose of freak (and we love it)

A LUCKY BREAK

It was what a farmer from Matamata had, a town lost by the northern island of New Zealand. Imagine that you are so hot with your sheep, cows and hills when suddenly they propose to transform your FARM into one of the sets of one of the most successful films in history: The Lord of the Rings!

A SMALL HOBBIT-PRESENTATION

I can't believe you don't know who the hobbits are! Tolkien? Peter Jackson? Lord of the Rings? My tessssssoro? Frodo? Hairy feet?

Let's go in parts ... the middle ground is populated by many different races: men, dwarves, wizards, trolls, elves ... but our favorites have always been them ... the hobbits! So as soon as they offered us the possibility of going to spend a day in Hobbiton we didn't doubt it for a second: we became hobbits for a day!

We like very good hobbies because they are a very simple town, nature lovers and enjoy life: a walk around here, a meal over there, a beer at the pub, a pipe in company (what rule!) And how no ... they are short like us, yes, their feet are much hairier!

And if you have not seen the movies, you do not know who Gandalf is, much less because Golum looks for his tesssssoro nothing happens: Hobbiton is a site that makes geeks fall in love and those who are not!

HOBBITON CURIOSITIES

  • The houses are beautiful on the outside and empty inside ... and the interior scenes were filmed on a Wellington set!
  • Most people who visit Hobbiton have not read or seen any movie of The Lord of the Rings. The most frequent reasons of who visits it are on the recommendation of someone or because they have seen it in some agency / guide.
  • After the recording of the 3 films of the lord of the rings, the Hobbiton set was dismantled leaving only the houses with their round holes. Luckily, after the recording of "The Hobbit" it was decided to leave the set as is in the movie!
  • The Alexander farm, where Hobbiton is located, is still in operation, so next to the hobby houses you will find nice sheep that graze the green hills.
  • It may be an urban legend or not ... but apparently there was a tourist once he declared himself to be a true hobbit and now that he had found his house he would never want to leave it again! We do not know how they finally got him out but it was surely a day moved in Hobbiton!
  • The Green Dragon tavern was recreated just like the one in the movie: you can even go in to eat a meet-pie or a snack and above all… to drink your beer for free! There are 2 types of beers: the dark one, similar to the guinnes and the fresh and delicious ginger-beer with only 1% alcohol! And if you do not dare (not even with 1% alcohol ?! It is very delicious !!) there is an apple drink (Ginger beer! Ginger beer! Ginger beer!)
  • The tree above Bilbo and Frodo's house is false

THE VISIT

We did a hobbiton tour from Auckland, but if you travel by car / van in New Zealand it is best that you go there directly (don't forget to book your ticket before or you will not enter!)

Upon arrival they handed us a beautiful map of Hobbiton and took us to a bus with which we traveled part of the Alexander farm. We did not see hobbies around there but a few sheep! About 10 minutes later we arrived at our destination: we finally stepped on Hobbiton! It is amazing to have in front of your eyes what you have seen so many times in the movies (and if you have not seen it, do not worry because you will freak out the same way!).

What amazes us the most is the amount of detail there is: pumpkins scattered on the ground, clothes hanging as if at any time some hobbit were going to pick it up, wagons with wood, watercolors, brushes, bakery stalls, fruit baskets , flowers, trees, orchards, hats, mailboxes waiting for letters, toys and much more!

The houses are super nice but best of all are the round doors and different colors: there are blue, green, red and yellow ... although the two most famous houses are undoubtedly that of Bilbo and Frodo at the top of the hill and Sam's!

Other strategic points are the tree of Bilbo's birthday party, where he disappeared ... pouf! The bridge with two arches, the mill and of course ... the Green Dragon Tavern!

This visit was very, very interesting: there is free beer! You can choose between black beer, ginger beer or cider. If you go ... choose ginger beer: it has only 1% alcohol and is so fresh and rich that we still dream it at night! In the tavern (faithfully recreated) there are also meat pies and other snacks, they are paid so we as good savers (read racanos) did not eat na de na. What we did was "dress up" as a hobbit, although Rober looked more like Mary Poppins than Frodo, don't you think?

In short: it was a great visit, we knew we would like it but we didn't think so much. We had a great time and we would not mind at all coming back: it is certainly such a surreal place that you will have to pinch yourself from time to time to remind yourself that you are still on Earth!

USEFUL INFO

There are two ways to get to Hobbiton: by own car (the town where it is called Matamata and is about two hours from Auckland) or by tour. Go as you go as soon as you arrive there is only one way to visit the land of hobbies: with guided tours!

In case you go free, without an agency involved, all you have to do is book your ticket to Hobbiton

We left with Kiwiana agency from Auckland. We saw the tour at our school and it costs $ 125 (includes round trip, entrance in Hobbiton and visit to the Hamilton Gardens, of which we will talk to you in another entry :-p). The entrance to Hobbiton is worth little face so if you do not have your own means of transport it is the best option, in addition that along the way the guides tell you many anecdotes and curiosities about NZ and Hobbiton (they even put us the cd of the lord of the rings to enter on the paper!). We loved the tour and we recommend it 100%. We want to thank the agency “Kiwiana” and its owners Dave and Katerinee who have made it possible for us to live this experience: we had a great time, we loved being a hobby for a day!

Do you want to take advantage of the day to take a tour of Hobbiton and the Waitomo cave? Check out this.

If you have any doubts or want more advice for visit hobbiton, here we are 🙂

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Video: How to go to the Hobbiton? Guide to Hobbiton Movie Set Tour. New Zealand Tours. Vlog #4 (March 2024).