If you're making the journey to Middle Earth, there are some must-see spots around the country. At some point I will tell you all about Mt. Doom and where you can find trolls, Smaug, and Gollum in Wellington, but this adventure starts right where Frodo's did: at the Shire.
You know how some places look beautiful in photos and are a let-down once you arrive? This is not one of those places. It is every bit as magical and charming as it looks.
It even, in contrast to theme parks or the like, doesn't feel crowded by tourists. Maybe that's due to the setting in rural New Zealand so far away from everything else or due to the fact that you join in on a tour group with limited numbers. We did the basic movie set tour which was already pricy at $79, but it seems worth mentioning that there is an option for an evening tour complete with a banquet if you do have a larger budget!
We took the Intercity bus down to Matamata from Auckland. I hadn't realized that the Kiwi Experience would actually stop at the Shire on its way through the North Island, but I was happy to have already done it by the time we got there (the bus experience is a whirlwind and I'm glad I didn't have to cram this in).
Matamata is a small, quiet town. You'll know you're in the right place because the iSite (information center) is built to look like a large hobbit dwelling.
Here you can buy tickets or exchange your vouchers for them, take a photo with the Gollum statue (always was my favorite character), and buy souvenirs. A bus leaves from the iSite to take you to the farmland property where the Shire is located.
The movie set is actually named Hobbiton. You'll come through rolling hills to arrive on the large property of so very many acres where Hobbiton is located. Peter Jackson first saw this farmland area while he was scoping out the country by airplane for a suitable spot. He negotiated with the owners, imported some sheep (NZ sheep weren't authentic enough for the movie, you see), and built the set.
I was SO excited. I will, unfortunately, not be able to provide you with any interesting tidbits provided by the tour guide because we drifted at least four hobbit holes behind the group at all times and barely heard a thing. We were so busy taking photos and generally having a blast that I didn't really care to follow along at the pace of the tour.
Actually though, here's a fun and quick story for you. A couple of weeks later, in Wellington, I met a guy who told me that he had been in Hobbiton only FOUR days before me, and Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan (Pippin and Merry) had been in the Green Dragon promoting The Hobbit and drinking with everybody. I was just four days too late! I couldn't even speak. Broke my heart.
What I can tell you is how gorgeous everything was! The grass was so green, the sky was so blue, and the ponds reflected it all like perfect mirrors.
There are so many different hobbit holes built to various sizes so that the actors would look larger or smaller depending on, say, whether they were Pippin or Gandalf. Some of the tiny doors were barely waist high while you could actually go and stand inside others.
We laid on the grass roofs and took photos with the miniature props like mailboxes and wheelbarrows.
We even were able to see Bag End although couldn't go past the fence, presumably because we were not there on party business.
After winding up and down the path past all the hobbit holes, you can follow the signs leading to the Green Dragon, and you'll come out underneath the party tree next to the perfect lake.
After venturing through a wooded area, you'll come to a watermill and the bridge that leads to the Green Dragon Inn.
The inside is cozy and rustic and everything you could hope for. The tour includes a free drink. I got a stout, and we found some armchairs next to one of the stone fireplaces. It was absolute contentment.
Really the only thing that could have made the day any more perfect would have been if I'd had a few hundred bucks to drop on THE one ring which was for sale in the gift shop at the end, but sadly, I'd made too many impulsive and irresponsible financial decisions in the past week (jumping off that building in Auckland, mainly), so that's a dream that will have to wait for another time. Oh, or Gandalf showing up with fireworks would have been pretty cool too. Maybe on the next adventure!
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