Hobbiton Tour

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45min drive from Rotorua, we traveled to Matamata for the famous Hobbiton Tour.

This was a normal peace small town like others. Becoz of the Alexander family rent out their farm for Lord of the Rings filming; this place becomes famous, flooded by tourists to see where the Hobbit stays in the film. And I think the government should grant Alexanders the royal family who contributes tonnes of income from the tourists.

We took the tour and there’s a van ferry us to the set from Matamata’s I-site.

It’s 20min away from I-site to the set. On the way, the driver kept giving information about the filming, where the audition held, how excited the residents in Matamata were to involve in the filming.

I was a media-worker in Malaysia, involved in TV programmes filming for about 3 years before I came to NZ. For the first time I met people that “fancy” (I don’t know the right word) the movie and the filming set so much, it’s a bit too much I think.

There are signboard stated where were the car park, the tent for costumes, make up, the rest room for director and actors etc. Of course it’s empty field right now.

And, the thing that I have to salute them (I mean the tour guide), they can remember every line and movement of the movies. I shake my head to tell them “I don’t know” when they asked “When Gandalf enters the Hobbiton village and meet Fordor, and he said….?”

We saw the Party Tree, the hole house which the last scene of LOTR III, where Sam and Rose met, and we entered the Fordor’s uncle’s house.

LOTR is like a bible of New Zealanders, they are proud of what the movies have done to their country. How I wish one day I can work on some filming that have this “bible” status, so tour guide and tell people this is where Jace used to pee, this is the tree that the actors like to lean on it, this is where the camera man smokes. And people look at the empty places with amazing expression.

I’m sorry to be sarcastic. The whole tour is very nice, good maintenance to keep the set, and nice tour guiding for LOTR pilgrims. For me, it’s a bit over for the pride of being filmed.

Nice place for pictures, but not a must-go spot unless you are LOTR pilgrims.

In our tour packages, it included sheep farm experience, we can watch how a sheep become “bold”, get shaved. Sheep is a cute animal that I didn’t see it before in my country, so I paid extra $15 for the show. Of course afterward I found out sheep is everywhere in NZ, but I am glad I have experienced how to feed lambs.


On the way back to Matamata, I had a chat with the tour guide about NZ and my country. We talked about the peaceful level between 2 countries. I said traveling in NZ is much more safer than in Malaysia, at least the police here are efficient as they have to be. He asked me about Malaysia, I said there are “no policemen” in my country. As the police’s job is only write report in the office and call the hospital the pick up bodies whenever there are accidents. Robbery, rape, kidnapping happen all over the country; the policemen only come out from the comfortable office during festival season to set up road block and collect corrupted money from those drivers who sped. The first car that attends car accident spot is not the police cab, but the private towing truck try to make money from it.

He was so surprise about it, and I told him policemen are called Mata-mata in Malay.

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