Finding Hobbiton.

I didn’t expect to find any authentic evidence of Middle Earth still remaining in New Zealand. So, when I stumbled upon www.hobbitontours.com I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to jump aboard the Hobbiton express and see a piece of filming history. As I stood at the Matamata Information Centre with bright orange ticket in hand, I couldn’t hold back the geeky smile.




I was fortunate enough to be in a small group of other tourists led by Russell Stevenson, part owner of the property that was once just an ordinary sheep farm. He reminded us that it is still a working property, complete with authentic gates which visitors are encouraged to help open…. And then close, after the bus had passed through! While the beautiful hills are still full of white woolly bodies, all those on board were keen to get a small glimpse of The Shire.

Our tour passed the ‘backstage’ areas of the property where a mini-city was constructed during filming. Animal wranglers, expert gardeners (should have just asked the Gamgee’s….), power generators, toilets, lighting, plumbing, kitchens and costume/makeup vans had to be organised within the property. Apparently, at the height of activity over 400 people were fed three hobbit-sized meals a day. In all, a logistics nightmare. After seeing the ‘backstage’ Russell then drove us into The Shire.
The sign said ‘Welcome to Hobbitton’ - it should have read ‘check your brains at the gate and prepare to see some really cool stuff.’

I walked along the path that leads to Bagshot Row,

According to Russell, we haven’t seen the end of the Shire in the films. (Shhh… you didn’t hear that from me. Big ‘Yay!’ for the Shire. Cant wait to see more though!)

And saw across the lake toward the Pub and the Mill. All of these structures were created from scaffolding pipes and polystyrene cladding. The Bridge, despite being made of pipes, plywood and polystyrene, had enough strength to withhold a 4-wheel drive!

From the top of the hill, we can look over the party field and see the Party Tree, which still has remnants of ribbons and decorations within its branches. It was from this very spot, where Sir Ian McKellen and Ian Holm sat smoking pipe weed and contemplating Bilbo’s Eleventy-First birthday bash.

And then, we found it. Bag End. THE Bag End. It’s right on the top of the hill, overlooking the Party Field, right where it should be. There’s still a little bit of evidence of the wonderful garden Samwise would have maintained, with a small cobblestone stairway still set into the beautiful green grass.

And, of course, the window that poor old Sam would have been pulled through…

You may have spotted the obvious lack of the big tree, which featured on the top of Bag End. This tree had actually been transported from a neighbouring property (all 28 tonnes of it), then stripped and manicured to look exactly they way it does on the film.

Many small hobbit holes dotted the greenery, with a score more having been taken down after filming. Still, there was enough holes here to house a small army of hobbits

Without retelling all of the tales and anecdotes, its hard to convey just how wonderful this tour was. Although The Shire has been left to regenerate into its natural state, the experience was really wonderful. The tour guide was more than willing to answer any questions and was always ready to recount some small snippet of information about the magical filming process. Asked if there were plans on recreating an actual Hobbit Hole, Russell explained that it would be so difficult to do justice to the magic that Peter Jackson created over 6 months of preparation before filming began. Due to its remote location, maintaining a hobbit-garden would be extremely difficult despite the hundreds of sheep that would simply LOVE to make a hobbit-sized meal of any pretty plants. Without hiring a fleet of gardeners, a recreation simply wouldn’t hold up to the high standards that was created for the film. Visitors would likely be disappointed with any attempts, so the set was kept as it was left by the film crew when they stopped filming back in February, 2000.

I tend to agree with him. The experience was more about learning how the film was constructed, rather than seeing the actual sets. We saw how the image was built, and how the small town of The Shire was created and to the lengths that Peter Jackson’s team went to make everything as authentic as possible. (The thatching on the Golden Dragon Pub is real thatching, made from reeds from the Hobbiton Lake!)

I’m really glad I took the opportunity to visit the set, as it gave a unique look into the almost fanatical way the films were brought to life. If I ever need another reason to praise the work of all those who worked on this film odyssey, this would be it. Long live Middle Earth!

May all your days be filled with Hobbit cheer.
Jac.