Hobbiton and the Dragon - 22 December 2007

(Written by my wife, Hayley)
Good evening all! (or morning or afternoon, or whatever time of day it is for you…) Yesterday was a ton of fun!! Bobby and I had breakfast at our hotel in Auckland and then drove to Matamata – well, Bobby drove, I snoozed. Once we got to this quaint little town and parked, we finished off the delicious strawberries we had bought the day before. There was no way they were going to last anyway and besides, we didn’t want to leave them in a hot car.
Next we checked in for our tour of Hobbiton and the Shire and boarded our tour bus with lots of other Lord of the Rings (LOTR) fans. We drove to the Alexander family sheep farm, where all the scenes of Hobbiton and the Shire were filmed for LOTR. The Alexander family was first approached by Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema in 1998 when Jackson saw the farm and knew it would be just perfect for the land of the hobbits that Tolkien described. The family was confused at first, saying “Lord of the what??”. They quickly learned all about the books and the trilogy to be made. At the end of it all, 35 hobbit holes would be constructed, numerous flower and vegetable gardens would be planted, and many more farm animals would be brought in. The environment has now been largely restored to its previous state, except for the 17 hobbit holes left on the site.
Our bus driver and tour guide began by driving us to the top of the highest hill, giving us a great view of the whole farm. Far from any major cities, the only noises we heard were from the sheep. The lack of noise (and civilization), the lush green rolling hills, the lake and the huge oak tree next to it, all convinced Jackson that this was the place. We drove down the hill, walked along a path, and came to a lush green field in between the hill and the lake. This field is known as the “party field” where all the hobbits gathered to celebrate Bilbo’s 111th birthday. Beyond that, the cute little hobbit holes just stuck out of the hillside, each with its own round hobbit sized door and windows. This was all just soooo cool to see!! Incase you hadn’t noticed, Bobby and I are big LOTR fans, but it’s safe to say that I am a really huge fan. As we walked across the property and the tour guide pointed out details of the films I could literally see all the scenes taking place! Very cool indeed.
We got our photo taken at Bag End (Bilbo and Frodo’s home), wrapped up the tour, and returned to Matamata. We bought a few souveniers – postcards for me, because I love to collect them, and a fridge magnet – and got a light lunch at a place called Workman’s Café. Bobby and I wondered if and how often the actors playing the hobbits had eaten there? Granted, they had gourmet meals catered to them during filming, but when they weren’t working maybe they just hung out at restaurants like this in town.
Next, we got back on the road and headed to Waitomo (south of Matamata) and checked into our hotel for the next two nights – our very own Hobbit hole! The hotel is made up of five motel units, a train, a plane, a boat, and two hobbit holes. (You can imagine that they book up really fast, good thing Bobby had been planning this trip for over a year!) Anyway, our hobbit hole was really cool! It was of course built for average-sized people, with a kitchen, big living room, etc. The whole place had a great rustic, woodsy feel to it. Also, (not that we needed the amenities) it was interesting to note that there was no telephone, no central air, and a TV with just 5 over-the-air channels. (Cable TV in NZ hotels is actually a rarity – I don’t think American hotels could get away with that!)
After dinner at a local pizzeria, a wildfire got lit under Bobby’s butt and he suggested we just go for a drive. We ended up going for a crazy fun drive down the windiest road you can imagine! It was very much New Zealand’s version of “The Dragon”, a famous road in western North Carolina with about 300 turns in 11 miles. I’m not sure how this road compared, but it had to have been close. We stopped along the way to see Marokokopa Falls, which has been called “the North Island’s most spectacular waterfall”. It was definitely one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen and the fact that we got to take a 10 minute walk down a trail in a pretty forest to get to it made it even better. We also stopped along the way at a natural land bridge. This was another very pretty walk. At that time of day (around 7 in the evening) the lighting is just right for great photos!
Finally, we got back to the hobbit hole in time to take pictures of the sunset, download the days photos onto the laptop, and go to sleep. Speaking of which, it’s time for me to go to sleep now as well. As I type, Bobby is snoring away on the couch.
Love always, Hayley and Bobby