8 years in the making, today we finally get to Hobbiton after having to return home early on our last trip without seeing it. Our tickets back in 2015 were not wasted, Peter and Anja kindly purchased them. This time we didn’t bring hobbit outfits just ourselves.
Our day started with a quick breakfast in Matamata and a visit to the iSite. We had been advised to get to the Shire’s rest early to avoid a possible long car park leading into the entry, so we arrived one and half hours early in time for second breakfast ( drinks) and a visit to the official Shire gift shop.
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| ISite Gandalf |
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| Our motel Maple Lodge |
At 11:40am we boarded our bus to begin our adventure. While waiting a private tour group (rich Americans apparently) helicoptered in which made a big entrance and boarded our bus. Once at Hobbiton, the 6 Americans moved off on their private tour. We didn’t care.
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| Entrance to Hobbiton |
Our guide lead us through Hobbiton seeing all 44 hobbit holes including Bag End.
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| Bag End |
We were informed by our guide that the same hobbit holes have been created in different ratios to allow movie magic in giving the ability to film different ‘sized’ characters in perspective. Hobbiton has recently created and opened two hobbit homes. These have been kitted out in an authentic way to fit its ‘owner’. They have been beautifully styled to match descriptions in the movies and books.
The hobbit hole (Sam’s) we explored was magnificent, We descended down to the party tree clearing to enjoy a drink and lunch.
Lunch was a buffet with a selection of tasty foods to meet the most picky of eaters needs.
Overall, we were very surprised by the size and detail of Hobbiton. The tour Guides were great and very friendly. For people unable to make steep climbs and descents, the staff will assist with a golf cart. Highly recommend a visit, especially with the new hobbit holes open.
The rest of afternoon we travelled inland to Taurangi and our motel: The Sportsman Lodge. As before we enjoy the scenery of rolling hills, green pastures and lakes. As we approached Taurangi, we saw a great snow capped mountain in the distance.
Our lodging is a very comfortable cottage with decor of rich timbers popular in the 1970s. We believe it will be a pleasant base for the next few days. For dinner, we settled on “Fish and chips” after a very quick explore of the town centre. After dinner we strolled on a bush track that ran along side a river. We returned to our cottage to finish the day with this blog and a couple glasses of New Zealand wine.
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| The Sportsman Lodge |
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