Hey guys, I have some news. Since we're going to be in New Zealand longer than expected, we decided to buy a house. It's a bit small and dark, but our neighbors are cool.
At 16+ hours of travel, our move from Auckland to Christchurch is by far our longest New Zealand road trip. Matamata is practically on the way so we couldn't resist stopping by Hobbiton to ooh and ahh over what is basically our ultimate domestic fantasy.
Just look at it: pretty, round windows and doors, flowers and trees everywhere...I can't get enough. Add in a good kitchen, a shelf full of books, and a comfy window seat and I would refuse to leave.
And the hobbits have a community garden!
I'm beginning to wonder if J.R.R. Tolkien invented Hobbiton specifically to make me jealous. "But, he never knew you existed! He died before you were born!" you'll protest. I say, he knew what he was doing.
The best thing about this beautiful movie-set garden is that aside from the things on the table, it's all real, thanks to North Island's glorious climate and a dedicated team of gardeners. The gardeners just have to keep it looking all idyllic and lovely, and they get to take home whatever the garden produces. What a cool job!
I'm beginning to wonder if J.R.R. Tolkien invented Hobbiton specifically to make me jealous. "But, he never knew you existed! He died before you were born!" you'll protest. I say, he knew what he was doing.
The best thing about this beautiful movie-set garden is that aside from the things on the table, it's all real, thanks to North Island's glorious climate and a dedicated team of gardeners. The gardeners just have to keep it looking all idyllic and lovely, and they get to take home whatever the garden produces. What a cool job!
The tour we took lasted about 2 hours and it was not nearly long enough because we're crazy and aren't satisfied until we've explored every nook and cranny.
Some cool things we learned:
The houses are made at various scales to make the actors look bigger or smaller by standing next to them.
Casting required that hobbit extras be 5'2" or under, so I'm actually at the tall end! I must give off a smaller than life impression though because when our guide asked people who fit the hobbit requirements to raise their hands he looked at me like, "No kidding."
The tree on top of Bag End isn't real. It's a huge, half a million dollar movie prop. Originally they wired together pieces of a real tree for the LOTR movies, but when they did The Hobbit Peter Jackson insisted that the tree should look younger since the story took place much earlier.
He also assigned PAs to walk to and from all the clotheslines for 2 weeks so that the grass would show signs of being regularly trodden by hobbits going about their daily activities. This guy's attention to detail is impressive.
All the interiors were shot in a studio in Wellington, so if you're imagining going inside Bilbo's house, it's not exactly like that. You can physically go inside, but there's not much to see. There's enough room for a handful of people to stand and not much else. I did find umbrellas in one of them though, so, score!
Some cool things we learned:
The houses are made at various scales to make the actors look bigger or smaller by standing next to them.
Casting required that hobbit extras be 5'2" or under, so I'm actually at the tall end! I must give off a smaller than life impression though because when our guide asked people who fit the hobbit requirements to raise their hands he looked at me like, "No kidding."
The tree on top of Bag End isn't real. It's a huge, half a million dollar movie prop. Originally they wired together pieces of a real tree for the LOTR movies, but when they did The Hobbit Peter Jackson insisted that the tree should look younger since the story took place much earlier.
He also assigned PAs to walk to and from all the clotheslines for 2 weeks so that the grass would show signs of being regularly trodden by hobbits going about their daily activities. This guy's attention to detail is impressive.
All the interiors were shot in a studio in Wellington, so if you're imagining going inside Bilbo's house, it's not exactly like that. You can physically go inside, but there's not much to see. There's enough room for a handful of people to stand and not much else. I did find umbrellas in one of them though, so, score!
More fun facts:
The field where Bilbo's birthday was filmed used to be a swamp, so the New Zealand Military came to help fill it in. I really hope they include that in their recruitment ads.
The soldiers also acted as extras during the battle scenes. They were asked to really give the audience a fierce battle, but when they delivered, Jackson had to ask them to tone it down because they were too intense!
The field where Bilbo's birthday was filmed used to be a swamp, so the New Zealand Military came to help fill it in. I really hope they include that in their recruitment ads.
The soldiers also acted as extras during the battle scenes. They were asked to really give the audience a fierce battle, but when they delivered, Jackson had to ask them to tone it down because they were too intense!
After trespassing in as many of the homes as possible, our tour went down to the party field, where there were some props and decorations from Bilbo's birthday scene. I made Josh try out the maypole. Ideally there should be more people, but I think he pulls it off.
Josh experiences a maypole for the first time.
As our tour finished up, we walked down to another fantasy brought to life: The Green Dragon, where we got to enjoy a pint of Hobbiton's own special brew. (You can see an ad for it to the left, which we found later off set.) The lager I had was good, but the bitterness I'd enjoyed so much in small sips turned on me when I had to skull the rest to catch our bus in time. Much less enjoyable. It's a short 20 minutes at the pub, and as with every other part of the tour there's too much detail and magic to properly savor in the time given.
Being the last tour of the day does come with an extra benefit: we got to see the lanterns lit at dusk and the last moments of daylight turn the sky opal--something we would have missed any earlier in the day. Afterwards we went to a pub in the real world, had an especially delicious dinner, and ended the night with our necks craned back to stare at the Milky Way; a reminder that while fantasy is a beautiful thing, real life can be just as commanding. Definitely a date for the books.
Being the last tour of the day does come with an extra benefit: we got to see the lanterns lit at dusk and the last moments of daylight turn the sky opal--something we would have missed any earlier in the day. Afterwards we went to a pub in the real world, had an especially delicious dinner, and ended the night with our necks craned back to stare at the Milky Way; a reminder that while fantasy is a beautiful thing, real life can be just as commanding. Definitely a date for the books.