Visit Hobbiton in New Zealand

Hobbit house

If you are fans of the trilogy of 'The Lord of the Rings'Surely you remember the town of Hobbiton that appeared in the movie, and that is based on the one that appears in the book. 'The Shire' is the place where the hobbits live, that race from Middle Earth of small size and great appetite. And the truth is that you can visit it, but only if you go to New Zealand.

Yes, you heard right. And it is that after finishing the film, the hobbiton village that they created to shoot outdoors was maintained, thus giving rise to a very touristy space that is still profitable today. You can take a tour, see the Hobbit clothes hanging and even have a drink in the tavern of 'The Green Dragon'.

How Hobbiton Stayed

Hobbiton bridge

In the beginning, at the end of the movie, they planned to demolish everything. Due to copyright they decided to throw away the models and everything that had to do with the film, including this film set located on a farm in the town of Matamata. Due to heavy rains, they decided to postpone the demolition of the rest of the site for a few months later. By the time it was scheduled, the film had already been released, and people had already recognized the place, becoming a pilgrimage site for fans of the saga. The Alexander family farm owned the land, and seeing the profitability they could get, they decided to negotiate with New Line Cinema to preserve the hobbit village. In two years the tours began, and until today. As a peculiarity to say that the tavern of 'The Green Dragon' was built for the film, but was burned for 'The Return of the King' and rebuilt again for 'The Hobbit'.

How to get to Hobbiton

Cartel in Matamata

To get to Hobbiton it is essential to take the car or a bus. The closest you can get to by plane is Hamilton, about a 30-minute drive from Matamata. Many people also go from Auckland, as it is about two and a half hours from the town. When we arrive at the Alexander farm we can see Hobbiton only by hiring a tour. This can be done through the web or upon arrival, since in high season they are every half hour. They will take you on a bus around the farm for about ten minutes, while you enjoy the landscape of 'La Comarca'. Upon arrival, the tour will last a couple of hours, to be able to see all the corners of the hobbit village well.

 Hobbiton Village Walk

Hobbit house

There are many things to see in this village, and it is that during the tour you will not only see all its corners, but you will also go telling you many anecdotes and details of the shoot. This is the best part for fans of the trilogy, because they will get to know many interesting details of their favorite movie and the things that happened behind the scenes.

The most famous places are of course Sam's house, which appears in the film, and also the Bilbo Baggins house, of which you can still see some belongings in the bank outside his house. It is all so realistic that it seems that at any moment a hobbit is going to appear to fix your garden. In fact, you can see baskets of freshly picked vegetables, or fruit, because hobbits like to eat well and lead a quiet life in the middle of nature. You can also see a house with smoke coming out.

Molino

Another fundamental visit is that of the bridge through which Gandalf enters with Frodo in the car in the first movie, a beautiful bridge next to a mill. The photos there are essential. The tour also includes a drink at 'The Green Dragon' tavern, to feel like a real party hobbit.

Hobbiton

If you look at all the details, the houses on the lake are great, and even they have put on hobbit clothes hung up so that it seems that they still live there, that they have only hidden in their little houses so that we do not see them. They also have festive decorations, as if Bilbo's birthday was going to be celebrated right then and there. There is freshly baked bread, houses with nice fences and much more.

During the tour, which is long and allows you to see everything in detail, you can even enter one of the houses. Unfortunately, although we think that inside we are going to find a hobbit's home, the houses have nothing, they are only to be able to take a photo inside them. Furthermore, some of the houses are made on a smaller scale, for those scenes where Gandalf looks a lot bigger than the house, so we can take a picture in those little hobbit houses to make it look even more believable.


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