A Day at Hobbiton and Tauranga

Hobbiton is a working farm with sheep and cows etc. Peter Jackson found the location with its lush green rolling hills and pastures while flying over in a helicopter. He noticed how it looked like JRR Tolkiens descriptions of Hobbiton in his books. The New Zealand army helped build the temporary set including bridges. When they finished filming at this location they began to tear down many of the hobbit holes but they left 17 as bare plywood facades. With these left they started public guided tours in 2002. This all changed as they needed to film again and they built 44 permanent Hobbit holes. Some were built into the hills and others were covered with dirt after being built. In 2012 they built the Green Dragon Inn and it was our the final destination with scones, muffins, and a ginger beer they brew as well as a local apple cider. The ginger beer was wonderful! The whole experience was movie magic. Larkin binged watched Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit on our sea days. I read while it was running…as i write this we are watching The Hobbit yet again . I am getting it – finally – I think. Maybe I should try to read the books again! Amazing how many of our 60 plus year old passengers are huge fans.

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Each hole is built to a different size to trick the eye into thinking someone was taller or shorter in the movie. Only one, a red one, was created and available to enter. There was not much to see inside. It was one of the taller doors whether you notice it or not!

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On the tour, our guide Emily told a story of some woman running up to the laundry trying to stuff it all in her bag. Needless to say they threw her off the set…These were hobbit clothes that were changed every day during filming! I only get my laundry fix via photos.

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During the second filming the tree above Bag End was the wrong size so they cut it down, put a fake one in and voila – oops no – the director said the color of the leaves was wrong so the set designers had to paint each and every leaf the proper color. That is not a job I would have wanted. It now looks like a proper oak tree.

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The day or two before we took our tour it had poured rain. I’m sure enjoying this tour with an umbrella just wouldn’t have been the same! Our day was stunning and some of the grasses were even beginning to turn green! Amazingly I even got a great shot from the other side of the Green Dragon where not a single tourist was walking around! Each tour group was fairly small and the whole experience seemed somewhat private.

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Sorry for two in one day but we end up in Sydney tomorrow and I have one more day in Wellington to begin blogging about. Larkin is now on 24 hour confinement as she has a bacterial infection and it is required by the Australian authorities. We hope her meds kick in. Lots of sleep helps!