Aug 13 - Hobbiton

Our journey there and back again started at 11:30am when our tour guide Andy picked us up and drove us far into the New Zealand countryside. It’s about a 2 hour drive from Auckland so we stopped at a lookout point to admire the view (and cows) of the valley stretched out below us.

Andy was happy to chat away explaining how we can identify which homes work for which dairy farms based on signs at the end of their driveway. And the various differences between Rugby, Aussie Rules Football, American Football and Soccer.

We reached the starting point called the Shire’s rest. There was a cafe and gift shop. Andy wisely told us to shop in the gift shop before we headed on the tour as it would be closed once we got back. I had chosen the evening Banquet tour so we were the last tour of the day. The last regular tour in the winter is 3:10 so they can complete all tours before sunset. One of the tour groups coming back I swear had a guy who looked like Brendan Hunt aka Coach Beard from Ted Lasso. If it wasn’t him for real, it was his twin.

There was a large bus ready and waiting. A few couples including ourselves got selected to be in a chaser van as the Banquet tour is a slightly larger size tour than the bus. Hobbiton is in the middle of a working farm that raises sheep and cows. We passed by a huge herd of sheep atop the rolling hills.

The driver mentioned that Peter Jackson said the sheep on their farm looked too modern to use in either LOTR or the Hobbit so different sheep were brought in. Peter Jackson had also asked the NZ government for funding when they were first building Hobbiton for LOTR to make it more accessible for vehicles. They said they couldn’t afford any loans but instead offered him use of the NZ army. The army helped pave the roads into Hobbiton and in turn, Peter Jackson cast them all as Orcs!! A decent trade off I’d say!

Our first real sight of Hobbiton is the same path where Bilbo yells “I’m going on an adventure!” at the start of the first Hobbit film. It’s a perfect shot of Hobbit houses surrounding the pond and Bag End at the very top of the hill. Everyone in the tour group gasped and then the picture frenzy began! Everyone helped taking pics for one another and the two tour guides Keith and Mike helped take pics as well.

Our guides traded off at each stop telling us where various parts of the films were shot. This Hobbiton was rebuilt for the filming of the Hobbit as the original from LOTR was torn down. They wisely knew that if the rebuild was more permanent then these amazing tours could take place so fans could visit for themselves. Some Hobbit holes were built extra small to help with forced perspective to make Gandalf appear larger. The level of detail on each place was amazing. From the painted details on the mail boxes and the various items peeking through the windows. We wound our way around and finally up a very steep hill towards Bag End.

The view looking back down towards the pond and the rolling hills behind is exactly why Peter Jackson chose this spot for the Shire. Just beautiful.

We then headed down the hill and towards the Green Dragon inn. It just started to rain as we passed over the stone bridge and Mill that Gandalf crossed. The Green Dragon was already playing the Shire theme and our guides then became our bartenders. There were several special Hobbiton beers to choose from as well as some local wines. They asked us not to peek behind the curtain to the next room while our feast was still being prepared.

There were large wooden tables and chairs to share. There were a lot of Americans on this tour as many of us chose games thinking the USWNT would’ve gotten further in the tournament. There was one family from France but I think everyone else was from America. One of the men at our table was originally from Kirkland but now lived in Atlanta. Lots of people from all over California.

Our guides came in to tell us the banquet was now ready. It would be served family style with three large tables and two of each dish at each end of the table. The spread was amazing. Roast chicken, salmon, lamb shanks, sausages, potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, braised mushrooms, roasted veggies and huge dinner rolls. We passed dishes around, laughing and in disbelief that we were at the actual Green Dragon. There was more than enough to satisfy this crowd. Afterwards our guide let us know that the leftover food was shared by the staff and finally the pigs on the farm. They ate very well.

They asked us to move back to the pub side or step outside while the staff cleared out dinner and prepared for dessert. We walked outside into the darkness and took in the view of the Hobbit holes lit by lanterns reflecting off the water. A few minutes later they called us back into the dining room. They whisked in with large wooden platters and a cast iron dish hot from the oven.

Dessert included kiwi pavlovas, baked apple crumble, chocolate bread and fresh fruit. We also met the resident Hobbiton kitty, an adorable calico named Pickles.

Our bellies full of delights, our guides gave us battery powered lanterns to light the trail back to our starting point. We stopped briefly under the party tree for some more trivia from our guides. One of the couples exclaimed that they got engaged on the bridge between dinner and dessert! The whole group cheered and applauded for them and it felt like a perfect end to the night. A few more photo opportunities along the dark path and we were back in our van. Our original guide Andy was waiting for us and happy to hear what a great time we had. We were both grateful to have him driving us back to Auckland. The twisty country roads felt even twistier after dark and there were a few detours due to road construction. Andy knew exactly where to take alternate routes so we didn’t lose much time heading back. By 10pm Andy left us at the hotel and we thanked him profusely for the drive. Overall it was everything we hoped for. We can’t wait to have a LOTR marathon once we get home.