I was never a fan of Lord of The Rings (LOTR fans please don’t hate me. Let me explain!), but coming to New Zealand meant I had to watch the trilogy. I had even more reasons to watch The Hobbit trilogy, since we were visiting the Hobbiton Movie Set during our road trip in the North of New Zealand during my graduation road trip in May 2016.
Throughout our road trip in the North and South, we would pull out Lord of The Rings to watch the moment we had downtime. I remember most fondly of the times we huddled together in the campervan, away from the harsh May cold, to watch Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit.
Watching The Hobbit before our actual visit to the Movie Set is highly recommended. Why bother paying to tour the Movie Set if you don’t know a clue about The Hobbit? Watching The Hobbit triology set the excitement for visiting the actual site, and we could better appreciate the hard work that went behind creating the movie set.
Hobbiton sells out weeks in advance, especially in peak season. Skip the sold-out disappointment and book your spot early.
Reserve Your Hobbiton Movie Set Tour Here
In September 1998, Sir Peter Jackson ‘discovered’ the Alexander farm during an aerial search for suitable film sites. Site construction started in March 1999. Filming The Lord of the Rings Trilogy commenced in 1999 and lasted for 3 months.
When the site was rebuilt for The Hobbit Trilogy in 2009, these structures were built out of permanent materials. The oak tree that overlooks Bag End was cut down and transported in from near Matamata. Artificial leaves were brought in from Taiwan and individually wired on the tree. The rest of the tree was made out of steel and silicon.
The detail that went into building Hobbiton is genuinely staggering — and it reads completely differently once you’re standing in it. Tours sell out regularly, so booking before you arrive in New Zealand is the right move.
Book your guided Hobbiton set tour with transport here
39 Hobbit holes were created. The Mill and double arch bridge were built out of scaffolding, ply and polystyrene. Thatch for the roofs of The Green Dragon and The Mill were cut from rushes around the Alexander farm.
Painstaking efforts have been made to recreate the entire setting of this Hobbit town, including the cups, the seats and the fireplace. Even the staff have uniforms which resemble Hobbits!
Watermill
Inside a Hobbit hole!
The entire reconstruction process took 2 years, yet filming The Hobbit Trilogy began in October 2011 and took only 12 days. Imagine the crazy labour that went into creating this perfect town! At its peak, 400 people were on site, including Sir Peter Jackson, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Bilbo Baggins and young Bilbo Baggins.
Whilst going through the walking tour, I could imagine snippets of the movie being filmed there and then.
The Hobbiton Movie Set is a glorious place to be in, with its lush green grass, perfectly manicured gardens and the Hobbit holes interspersed between. Almost 100 gardeners are on site to care for the plants each day!
Book your Hobbiton movie set walking tour here
The one thing I have concluded from the tour was that the amount of time, effort and money put in to creating this “town” far exceeds what we imagine from watching the movie.
What may be filmed for 1 second may have taken months and hundreds of people to help build. Today, the set is maintained to keep the magic of The Shire alive, and to bring in tourists (or fans) of The Lord of the Rings.
Read: Driving In New Zealand The First Time?
The Hobbiton tour includes walking through the Party Tree, the Party Field, Bilbo Baggins’ hobbit, Bag End, the Watermill and finally finishing at The Green Dragon (which is a cafe!), where a complimentary cider, all handcrafted and exclusive to Hobbiton Movie Set, will be served!
Tours depart from 3 sites: The Shire’s Rest (exact location here), Matamata i-SITE (exact location here) and Rotorua (exact location here).
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- Matamata Shire’s Rest
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- Matamata I-Site
Tour prices start from NZD79.
Hobbiton Movie Set 501 Buckland Rd, Hinuera, Matamata 3400, New Zealand
I finished the LOTR trilogy in that campervan. I still prefer The Hobbit — and I maintain that’s a perfectly reasonable position.
What I won’t argue with is the movie set itself. Standing in the middle of Hobbiton, watching the tour guide explain that the oak tree above Bag End was transported from nearby Matamata and hand-fitted with individual artificial leaves from Taiwan — that kind of detail changes how you watch the films afterwards.
If you’re road-tripping through the North Island, one practical thing worth sorting before you leave home: a New Zealand eSIM.
New Zealand will do this to you, it takes a place you thought you vaguely knew about and makes it completely real. The Shire is real. The cider at the Green Dragon is real. And remember to check the weather when visiting New Zealand, the cold in that campervan in May was very, very real.
Reserve Your Hobbiton Movie Set Tour Here
What’s your favourite kind of movie?
Great post, Isabel and awesome photos as well 🙂 thanks for sharing!