In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle.
– J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit
The door really was perfectly round, and it indeed was painted green with a shiny brass knob right in the middle. The splash of yellow paint against the green grass and the crooked old oak tree that perched above made it easy to spot Bilbo Baggin’s house from the distance. I hastened my steps up the stone pathway that snaked uphill through the perfectly manicured gardens, eager to have a closer look. No time to stop and smell the flowers.
Giddy and eager like a little schoolgirl, I was nearly running through “Hobbiton”, the site of the movie set where the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies were filmed. A few final steps brought me right to Bilbo’s doorstep.
I stood behind the petite wooden fence taking in the details. Everything about this little hobbit hole was made to be real – a real, hinged door that was propped ajar, real stone steps leading down to the fence, and a real garden filled with flowers and lush, green grass.
It was just as Tolkien described it and exactly how it looked on film.
Located in the teensy locality of Matamata, just a couple hours drive outside Auckland, Hobbiton is definitely the number one spot to visit in New Zealand for Lord of the Rings fans. The tour of the site begins as you walk down a gravel path, entering Hobbiton using the same route that Gandalf takes as he arrives at the Shire in the beginning of the first Lord of the Rings film. From there, it takes about an hour as you wind your way through Hobbiton visiting each hobbit hole and hearing stories about the cast and the crew of the films along the way. The experience makes you feel as you’ve stepped right inside the movie.
Of course The Lord of the Rings experience begins before you even enter Hobbiton. An hour earlier, I had found myself driving through the regional roads of Matamata surrounded by a scenery of rolling hills, hundreds of sheep and what was likely the greenest grass I have ever seen in my life. It looked just like the Shire.
Wellington
Continuing my hobbit adventure through New Zealand, I made my way to Wellington, lovingly referred to as “Wellywood” by the locals because of its booming film industry. New Zealand’s capital is a pretty waterfront city packed full of great museums, a beautiful botanical garden, and a fantastic food scene that will satisfy even the most proud foodie.
I made sure to make plenty of time for good food like steak frites at Floriditas on Cuba Street and a scrumptious brunch at Thunderbird café, but I was here primarily on a hobbit-related mission.
I rang up Flat Earth New Zealand Experiences to book myself on their luxury Lord of the Rings tour. A day later I was cruising down the highway, on my way to take in the sights and locations of the Lord of the Rings in and around Wellington.
We swapped the urban landscape of downtown Wellington for the wooded beauty of the city’s regional parks.
Packed into the day were visits to Rivendell where Frodo recovered from his knife attack, the Anduin River through which the Fellowship rode their boats on their way to Amon Hen, the Gardens of Isengard where Gandalf went to visit Saruman, Mount Victoria and the Buckland Forest where the hobbits hid from the Nazgul and the quarry that was used for the filming of Helms Deep in Rohan and Minas Tirith in Gondor. At every site, our tour guide entertained us with stories from the set of the films helping us bring alive our favourite scenes right in front of our eyes.
Queenstown
The sun shone bright turning Lake Wakatipu into a giant sparkling sheet of sequined teal blue satin. In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Remarkables decorated the edge of the magnificent vista that my tour guide referred to as the million dollar view. It was a fitting name.
The Glenorchy area just outside of Queenstown was our destination on the luxury 4WD tour by Nomad Safaris. The area was home to several shoot locations from the Lord of the Ring and The Hobbit films including Isengard, Ithilien and Lothlorien, and the Remarkables mountain range that followed us everywhere we went were painted into the background of several scenes in both trilogies.
It was hard to stay focused on conversation while exploring such a pretty landscape. We stopped to dip our toes into Lake Wakatipu. The red hues from the rocks at the bottom of the lake turned the shallow edges of the water into a lovely rosé colour. We passed through some sheep farms where baby lambs frolicked among vividly green grass. Tea was served on the grey-pebbled banks of the shallow but brilliantly blue-hued Shotover river which shimmered in the sunlight.
As I sipped my tea surrounded by what was likely Mother Nature’s finest piece of work, I reflected on my journey through New Zealand. Although it was my love for the Lord of the Rings that brought me to this country, it was the landscape and its people that had become the most memorable part of my visit. Ten days was not enough time to spend in a country I had fallen in love with. I knew I had to come back to sip tea right there next to a sparkling river, flanked by a snow-capped mountain range on a tiny island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I had to come back to New Zealand.
Practical Info
Getting there
Air New Zealand services direct flights to Auckland from Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Where to stay
The Spire for an uber stylish and upscale experience with breathtaking views of the Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables from your window
Hamurana Lodge for incredible personalized service in Rotorua
Sarnia Park Boutique Accommodation for a peaceful retreat in Cambridge
The Bolton Hotel for the perfect family or big group accommodation in the heart of downtown Wellington
The Langham Hotel for a royal experience in Auckland
Top 10 experiences in New Zealand
Follow the trail of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Take in the beauty of the Remarkables and Milford Sound by helicopter in Queenstown
Watch glowworms light up like stars inside the caves of Waitomo
Watch exploding geysers and bubbling volcanic mud at Wai-O-Tapu thermal grounds in Rotorua
Pet a lion cub at Paradise Valley Springs Wildlife Park in Rotorua
Zip down the world’s steepest zipline in Queenstown
Soak your body in thermal baths at the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua
Conquering your fear of heights with the Sky Jump at the Sky Tower in Auckland
Enjoy a traditional hangi meal at Te Puia in Rotorua
Sip the world’s purest tea at the Zealong tea estate in Hamilton
Leave a Reply