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Published: July 16th 2015
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I caught a ride pretty quickly in Hamilton from an Indian student in an old van. I gathered from other people who have picked me up that there's a fair amount of xenophobia in NZ - with the usual complaints of foreigners coming there to benefit from their safety net without contributing anything, and then sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road and killing people. They should meet this guy. He was a full-time college student who paid for his tuition by driving 8 hours a day Friday-Sunday, his van filled to the brim with frozen goods bound for a grocery in Rotorua. He drove on the left side without a problem, but maybe that's just because he's from India. I helped him unload the groceries to thank him for the lift.
The town exists because of all the thermal activity in the area. A beautiful lake attracts many birds to the warm water during winter. There are thermal spas and the waterfront smells like sulphur. I went for a run along the water and in some areas the smell was pretty overwhelming. Dozens of other activities - from rolling down a hill in a giant hamster ball
Bilbo / Frodo's House
The iconic tree above it is fake. (Zorb) to luging down an alpine slide to visiting shows in a "traditional" Maori village - can be planned from the touristy town center. Skydiving is big too.
I went to the Polynesian Spa, which was okay. After recently visiting the much cheaper
onsens in Japan, I found myself asking where the cold baths and saunas were, and why it was so damn loud.
But I stopped in Rotorua mainly to do the most touristy thing of all. The movie set of The Shire in
Lord of the Rings and
The Hobbit is on a farm near the town of Matamata, which is about midway between Hamilton and Rotorua. It's only possible to visit it on a 75NZD tour. I'm only a moderate fan (I've read the books and seen the movies) but I figured I'd never be able to explain to some of my students and former students why I didn't visit. Plus, some other travelers told me it was worth it.
I chose the morning slot to avoid the crowds. It was a bright, frigid, frosty morning and the bucolic sheep farms in the area, including the one where they'd built the set, would be
Hobbit hole
Most of the hobbit holes have a big version and a small version, so that all the trick shots could be filmed. This one, for instance would do well to make the hobbits, or even me, seem small, but its counterpart would make it look like I could barely fit inside. worth a visit even without the preserved movie set.
The one-hour drive from Rotorua was pretty entertaining because our Gandalf-bearded driver talked on the mic the entire time each way, rambling endless facts and occurrences and anecdotes about Tolkien, Peter Jackson, the novels and the movies, the history of the area in its relation to LOTR, and even his own philosophy of imagination and fantasy. Not many others seemed to be very interested but that might be because, shockingly, according to the guide at the site, 40%!o(MISSING)f all visitors have never read any of the books or seen any of the films.
The guide at the actual set was fine, but the information seemed somewhat scripted. After talking to him a bit, I found he was still in high school, so he'd just learned to walk when the first film came out. He did an adequate job, but I expected more for the price; after all, there is no shortage of passionate
Lord of the Rings weirdos (I use that affectionately) in the world who would love that job and be able to share all their knowledge. Maybe they avoid those types to keep the tours moving
along.
There is nothing inside the hobbit holes, of course. All the interior shots were done in studios. Even though
The Hobbit films left much to be desired, and although they only used this location for a few minutes of the films, they didn't break the sets at all, intending to leave all the details- from fake moss on the trees to the real plants in the gardens- with the full intention of using it for tourism.
At the end they took us to The Green Dragon, the inn/pub. Of course, people have sought to profit from every aspect of the films, so now private parties, weddings, and even corporate events are held there. It's pretty nicely done and the tour included a specially brewed beer, which was quite good.
There are more photos below.
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