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Published: November 30th 2006
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Welcome to Hobbiton
Yes, it's really true! It's not every day you can say that you've been to one of the most unusual and memorable places on (Middle)Earth but today we did just that. Today, you see, we went to Hobbiton! If you're not a Lord of the Rings fan, then you will have no idea what I'm wittering on about but today we got to see the movie set for Hobbiton, home of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins.
It was an early start for us today with Liz and Allard picking us up at 7.30am before embarking on a good 3-hour drive to the little town of Matamata, deep in the Kiwi countryside south of Auckland. The town itself is not normally anything to write home about but it seemed we had picked the best day to visit aswhen we arrived, preparations were in full swing for the annual Santa parade taking place later in the morning. We treated Liz and Allard to coffee and some delicious home-made quiche (we haven't had quiche since leaving England so it tasted doubly good to us). We attempted a stroll along the Matamata Heritage Trail but when I tell you that some of the sights included the old people's home,
Matamata Visitor's Centre
Even the local tourist office got in on the act. the local primary school and a bit of old railway track leading to nowhere interesting, you can surely understand why we didn't get round to completing the 5.3km circuit!
The Santa parade kicked off at 11am and was a pretty decent procession considering the size of the town. The local population is only about 10,000 spread across the surrounding countryside which is famous for its dairy farming and horse racing industry. A big chunk of the population had turned out to see the parade and the atmosphere was buzzing. Floats rolled past featuring vintage cars, trucks and tractors and the locals had made a real effort to put on a good show on a small budget. We waved happily at all the people on the floats as the procession passed by taking all of 15 minutes to do a lap of the town and so it went round for a second lap to eke the excitement out a bit. It was a lot of fun to watch but our big adventure was yet to begin...
At midday, we boarded our tour bus and were whisked away into the rolling green hills of the Matamata countryside with our guide,
Hobb-I.T.
Not to mention the local internet cafe... Stretch, at the wheel driving the bus barefoot! There was also a lady guide providing us with fascinating facts about the Lord of the Rings movies and about Peter Jackson, the director. She explained to us why the location was chosen for Hobbiton and explained how the movie set came to have been left semi-intact when the agreement was to have it all dismantled at the end of filming. Apparently about half of Hobbiton was destroyed before bad weather set in. It was 4 months before the crew returned to finish dismantling the set but in the interim, so many people had approached the Alexander family about seeing the remaining set that they decided to try and save what was left as a tourist attraction. The deal that had to be brokered to do this is quite interesting as the land and tour is owned by the family but the set itself is the rightful property of MGM studios, who own New Line Cinema (I think I've got that right). I'm not sure who gets the money from the tour but we're really glad that the set got saved.
It was liek a kind of magical journey as we
Two Tickets to Hobbiton
Jish ensures everyone knows exactly where he's going. made our way along a gravel road inside the farm grounds, with vibrant grassy rolling hills all around us covered with specs of white fluffy sheep. It was a beautiful scenery streching as far as the eye could see in all directions, although Hobbiton itself was hidden away in a dip in the landscape. We stopped along the way to see where the technical crew had been stationed throughout filming and couldn't help but be impressed at the stories describing the sheer size of the logistical project that took place there - accommodation for the cast and crew, on-site catering, mobile film studio vans, not to mention the band of gardeners employed to make Hobbiton look as vivid and real as it does in the movies.
We then drove downhill and got our first glimpse of the set itself. Nestled in rows along the hillside were 17 individual hobbitholes, the houses in which the little folk lived. Most of the houses were just white facades with their holes boarded up to stop the sheep from setting up home inside but at the top of the village was one house that you could go inside - Bag End. Climbing inside
Down on the Farm
How vivid are these colours? the hobbithole felt like a very personal moment for me as I have loved both the books and the films and it was every bit like I imagined it would be. Alas inside Bag End there is nothing to see - it's just a carved out hollow supported by some solid carpentry to stop it all collapsing. Still, it was awesome to just be there. Looking down to the lake from Bag End, we could see down the hill to the giant party tree standing proud beside the little lake at the bottom. The landscape hasn't changed one bit from the scenes in the movie with the obvious exception of all the props that were added to turn the farmland into a seemingly functional village.
The guide showed us where the bridge had been built across the lake and helped us trace through the meadows on the other side the route which Gandalf took in his cart as he arrived in Hobbiton. She also explained to us about the attention to detail that Peter Jackson insisted upon for his films, including having certain fields with long grass and other fields freshly mown to make it look like people really
We're Really Here!
Just incase you wanted proof of where we are! were living there on a day-to-day basis. We couldn't help but be impressed with all the work that had gone into making this one small part of the films as perfect as it was. It makes me mad to think that New Line are looking to hire a different director to make The Hobbit, the prequel to the LOTR trilogy, because of a pay dispute with Peter Jackson. He really did have the vision to make something as fantastical as Hobbiton come to life and even just experiencing the remains of the set was something quite magical indeed.
Jish also had a particularly enjoyable day, showing off in his new outfit that Glynn had painstaking sewn the night before. Out went the All Blacks rugby t-shirt and in came Ganjish the Grey, resplendent with wizard hat, robes and staff fashioned from an oak twig. He spent many happy hours posing on set - I wonder if they've cast the role of Gandalf in the next movie yet? I know someone who might like the job!
As if that wasn't enough to make for a great day out, when we met up with Liz and Allard again after the
First Glimpse
Our first glimpse of Hobbiton. tour (they didn't come with us), they had prepared a fabulous picnic for us all to enjoy. We picked a quiet, grassy spot and tucked into some of Liz's wonderful homemade delicacies including quiche (you can never have too much quiche!), salads, beer and the world's best banoffi pie. It was excellent. We really can't thank Liz and Allard enough for making such an excellent day possible for us.
P.S. Did I mention that we've been to Hobbiton? :-)))))))))))))
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Jason
non-member comment
Aw man i am jealous now young hobbits......