Journey to Shire of Hobbiton

Lord of the Rings Filming Location

Journey with us from Tauranga and experience the real Middle-earth™ at the Hobbiton™ Movie Set, where, in the heart of the Waikato region, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire™, as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

click images to enlarge

As we mentioned in our last post, we had pre-booked a six hour tour with Zealandier Tours to the Hobbiton™ Movie Set.  After departing McLaren Falls Park, we then climbed up to over 1000 feet to cross the Kaimai Mountain Range, which divides the Bay of Plenty coastal region from the Waikato district, the main dairy farming area of New Zealand.

We soon arrived at Hobbiton™; the movie set location for Lord of The Rings and associated films, near the town of Matamata.

Upon arriving at our destination, our guide told us that we had time for some lunch and a restroom break before meeting him at the ticket entrance before 2 PM. 

He went to purchase our tickets and we decided to eat at The Shire's Rest™ Cafe .  The lamb wrap was very good. You can eat inside or in the picnic area nearby.  There is also a gift shop and restroom facilities, which we highly recommend you visit before your two hour tour begins.

Movie Set Tour

The tour is very organized.  You line up by time and check in with the guides.  They then escort you to a waiting motor coach which will take you to the entrance of the Shire.  During the bus ride to the entrance, several short videos are played, the first of which is a welcome from Sir Peter Jackson, whose team discovered the Alexander farm in 1998 while scouting for a filming location.  They were looking for iconic rolling hills of New Zealand.  If you watch our short video above, approaching the movie set, you'll soon understand why he fell in love with this location.

Wonders of the Shire

For the next two hours, we wandered around the set, escorted by our guide, who showed us the intricate detailing, pointing out the most famous locations and explained how the movie magic was made.

We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this iconic movie set in its full glory; from wandering the rambling paths of The Shire, to seeing the submerged Hobbit Holes™ that litter the rolling hillsides.

Green Dragon Inn Refreshments

After being taken around the 12 acre set, past Hobbit Holes and the Mill, the tour continues inside the world-famous Green Dragon™ Inn, where where we could sample their exclusive, specially brewed beverages (a local shire ale, cider or ginger beer) to conclude our own Middle-earth adventure.

These images are just a sampling from our visit to Hobbiton.  Be sure to view our entire album and bring back memories from your favorite Hobbit movie.  No visit to New Zealand would be complete without touring the movie set.  It is fun for young and old. 

Note: While the Movie Set is not very wheelchair friendly, they do have options available for those who may not be able to complete the walking tour. For more information visit the Hobbiton Movie Set website.

Additional photos can be found on our Australia & New Zealand Shutterfly page

Tauranga
Hobbiton



Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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