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Published: February 7th 2005
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Hobbit Set
Hobbit homes on the hill above the lake Sorry we haven’t posted in a couple of days - New Zealand kept us busy! The visit to the Hobbit set from Lord of the Rings was lovely. Crystal Cruises provided this as a free treat for all guests, so attendance was heavy. We had half a dozen or so large buses that took us for the trip, over an hour from the urban area where we docked. Truth to tell, I was only vaguely aware that LOTR was filmed in NZ, but it’s a big deal here. Thanks to it, tourism is said to be overtaking food exports as their chief industry. The buses took us to a beautiful isolated area on a cattle farm with a little lake and the big “party tree” in the opening scenes of the first movie. Around this was a hastily constructed (for our benefit) medieval village street scene, with many local citizens and children barefoot and in Hobbit dress, Morris dancers and street entertainers, and bounteous food booths set up with grilled chicken, lamb chops, roast corn and other delicacies. All the major characters in the films were there in costume, some of the baddies standing menacingly on the hills around the
Street Entertainers
Musicians and a jester in the tree lake with dark riders coursing about on horses. A few Hobbit holes are still there, mostly I understand through accident because heavy rains started just as the film crews were putting the property back to its natural state. Afterwards, the family who owned the farm began to get requests from local citizens to come out and see the place, so a new tourist attraction was born. But they are prudently holding onto their cattle and sheep. We had a great time chowing down and hobnobbing with the Hobbits, and afterwards there were fireworks over the little lake while we stood around the Party Tree and watched. It was a great evening, and well worth the long ride to and from the farm. (And finally, Dick knows what it’s all about!) Many thanks to those of you who’ve written. Mail is most appreciated! Mary
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anonymous
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i love lord of the rings! - maddy