Blogs from Matamata, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata December 17th 2021

When we moved to New Zealand one thing that was sure from the beginning is that we had to visit Hobbiton . There was no way around it. What started out as a film set for the Lord of the Rings trilogy quickly became a very popular tourist attraction when the studio rebuilt the set for the Hobbit and decided to open up the area as a tourist attraction. I was more than surprised to see how many of the Hobbit houses we were able to visit on the tour, also only from the outside. They even have a pub called the Green Dragon. This Hobbit facility you could actually go inside to order food or to have a drink. We got a couple of ciders and set in the pubs garden, since the weather was ... read more
Hobbit Holes
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Hobbit House

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata March 1st 2020

Leaving Auckland, we headed a couple of hours south to Matamata. Nearby, on what used to be a 506 hectare (1250 acre) sheep farm, Sir Peter Jackson found what he felt was the perfect site to locate his set for The Shire. In particular, a large tree matched a tree described in Tolkien's works. He built the set using temporary materials for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. By agreement with the landowners, it was all torn down after filming was completed. When he decided to film the Hobbit trilogy, he approached the family that owned the land and they all agreed to build a permanent set, and use it as a tourist attraction after filming wrapped up. I believe the second set was identical to the first with the exception of the more durable materials ... read more
Hobbitton Movie Set
Hobbitton Movie Set
Hobbitton Movie Set

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata February 20th 2020

I went to Hobbiton today! It was great. I don't even know what else to say about it; it was hot as all Hell, though. The surrounding farmland was as dry as my humour, but then you entered the Shire and BAM! Some of the most lushest, greenest grass I have ever seen. Our tour-guide was a total sweetheart and was almost certainly related to the most wholesome gardener out there, Samwise Gamgee himself. We took a selfie together. Hobbiton kind of gave me a feeling of coming home, but that could have just been the after-effects of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack they were playing on the entire ride to the set. I hear the gentle sounds of some woodwinds and a string-ensemble and my brain just starts handing out serotonin like the charity-people ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata March 3rd 2018

Day 5: Hunua to Matamata, 164 km. The Donkey is in trouble On day 5 the Donkey got into trouble. Headwind accompanied the Donkey for the first 80km which included the windswept shores of the Firth of Thames. The Donkey was in a hurry as he wanted to see his family who were coming to Matamata to say hello, his wife Butterfly, and his youngest daughter, the beautiful unicorn, with her husband, the beaver, and their two perfect little monkey girls. The Donkey wanted to look the best he could but in his haste to get there he blew a few pistons and one of his legs went lame. The wheels are fallen off, the Donkey thought bleakly, even if the wheels of Spot had not really fallen off as there were still going round in ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata July 30th 2017

Sonntag, 30.07.2017: Der erste Blick aus dem Van heute morgen war ein Blick durch Schwefeldampf auf gefrorenen Tau unter strahlend blauem Himmel. Nach dem Frühstück ging es dann auch schon gleich ins Auenland. Unglaublich, was Peter Jackson da geschaffen hat. 300 Millionen Dollar haben die drei Herr der Ringe Filme gekostet. Wieviel davon wohl drauf ging fürs Auenland, sprich dafür, Seen an- und Moore trockenzulegen, Hügel aufzuschütten und andere abzutragen, Vögel einzuliefern und ansässige Vogelarten von einem trainierten Adler aus den USA vertreiben zu lassen, ausgewachsene Bäume umzupflanzen, 200.000 künstliche Blätter hinzuzufügen und Blätter anderer Bäume „grüner“ zu lackieren, Zwetschken an Apfelbäumen anzubringen, weil im Buch von Zwetschken die Rede ist, die Bäume zur Frucht aber nicht in die Kulisse passen, 42 Hobbithöhlen zu bauen, etc.??? Für ca. 6 Minuten effektive Filmze... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata April 20th 2017

Ça y est enfin nous reprenons la route de nos aventures! Le retour à la vie en van c'est reprendre une certaine organisation mais c'est tout aussi excitant! Pour notre premier jour de vacance nous mettons le cap sur Hobbiton, célèbre lieu de tournage du Seigneur des anneaux et du Hobbit dans la Comté. Nous prenons le bus depuis l'i-site (office de tourisme) de Matamata. Pour nous accompagner le long du trajet, une petite vidéo de l'interview de Peter Jackson réalisée expressément pour les visiteurs nous dévoile les secrets de construction des (44!) maisons des hobbits. Notre guide, Jack, n'est autre qu'un jeune anglais en WHV comme nous, recruté par Skype. Pas mal comme job! Il nous tiendra compagnie pendant 1h30 de visite, nous fera passer un excellent moment de détente et répondra à toutes les ... read more
Hobbiton
Hobbiton
Hobbiton

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata April 10th 2017

A visit to Hobbiton was high on our list of things to do. After a very pleasant breakfast with our hosts at the Sunlover Retreat in Tairua, we left for Matamata and the 1200 acre sheep farm where they filmed the Shire in the Lord of the Rings and then the Hobbit. The owners arranged for the sets to be left there permanently and Hobbiton was born. At the end of the tour we had a drink at the Green Dragon Inn. ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata August 30th 2016

First off I need to give big shout out and and even bigger thank you to the members of the Port Waikato Surf Club. After meeting a member on the beach the wonderful people here took me into their clubhouse, fed me a huge dinner, gave me plenty of beers, and let me watch the All Blacks rugby game with them. Also a special thanks to Alton and Robyn who had pity on me in my little Toyota Corolla and took me into their home giving me a warm bed and a hot shower. The kindness of people towards a total stranger is something that never ceases to amaze me. So up refreshed the next day I set off for a good round of tourism and I landed in the magical spot on Middle-Earth; The Shire, ... read more
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Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata May 14th 2016

14 mai: (Il ne s'est rien passe de bien passionnant le 13 mai !) Je me suis reveille tot pour etre a l'heure d'ouverture au village des Hobbits. Le soleil avait decide de faire partie de la journee aussi. La petite route qui nous menait au village etait vraiment mignonne, dans la campagne avec les fermes un peu partout. Je suis arrivee vers 9h et bien contente de pas etre arrivee apres car il commencait deja a arriver du monde. La visite se fait avec un guide. La notre etait passionnee par les livres et les films et du coup elle a rendu la visite tres agreable. Elle nous a explique comment s'est passe les tournages des films, les differentes scenes en fonction de l'endroit du village, elle a nous a donne les annecdotes, les details ... read more
The Hobbiton village (15)
The Hobbiton village (22)
The Hobbiton village (17)

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Matamata April 2nd 2016

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie set. We had a great time, despite the rain!... read more
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