there and back again.
Though the main draw of our trip up north was the Waitomo Glowworm Cave, there is another special attraction located just an hour away from the village that we knew couldn't be missed. On the last day of our journey we traveled through more of New Zealand's rolling countryside until we reached our destination, the Alexander Farm. It is a large, sprawling sheep and cattle farm that you might better know as Hobbiton.
We began our tour by waiting in a rather long line. We were eligible for a discount and had spoken to the powers-that-be in advance to reserve a space, but there is no way to pay for your ticket ahead of time unless you book online. Save your sanity, if not your money, book online. With online booking you still must claim your ticket, to do this ignore the large line and head straight for the kiosk on the left hand side of the ticketing centre. Try to arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled departure time, we were 10 minutes early and ended up having to wait for the next tour.
Once battling your way through the queue of the five armies, you can then begin your journey by standing in the appropriate bus queue based upon your tour time. The bus ride is only a short part of the journey as you travel down into the farmland and are ushered into Hobbiton. This is by no means a self-guided tour, but you will have the opportunity to explore various sections before moving along to the next area. The tour guides are friendly and can offer valuable trivia and tales about the creation of the set that you might not hear otherwise.
Perhaps most shocking is the amount of detail that went into the creation of Hobbiton. Each hobbit hole is decorated in accordance with it's inhabitant's hobby or occupation and all the fruit and vegetables dotting the landscape are real and grown fresh in the Shire. The tree overlooking Bag End is not an original feature of the farm and was cut down from a nearby property then reassembled on-site. A dead tree isn't very pretty to look at so Peter Jackson had leaves imported from Taiwan to be wired onto the branches. Similarly, Tolkien's work called for plum trees in the shire, but instead they used miniature apple trees on which the fruit had to be picked off and plums fastened on. Even the wash had to be hung on the lines with care each day before filming could begin just so the grass would be flattened to look more authentic.
Peter Jackson really just might be barking mad. These are things that you would never in a million years notice in the films, but this attention to detail is what makes Hobbiton worth visiting.
Somehow we managed to go on Hobbiton's busiest day to date so it was quite crowded and impossible to get a photo of the raw landscape. According to our guide the best time to go is during June - August, New Zealand's winter. However, even in the coldest evenings the temperature only gets down to 0°C/30°F so if you are visiting from Canada or the North-Eastern side of the States you can probably handle it.
The last stop of the tour and by far my favourite bit was the Green Dragon Inn, which actually is a new structure built by the Alexander family with help from Wingnut Films. This is the only structure on site that you can really go inside as it is a fully functioning pub. This area is also available to hire for corporate functions and weddings. Included in your ticket price is one free drink of either cider, ale, or non-alcoholic ginger beer. Once you pick up your drink you have 20 minutes to explore the inn and the surrounding area before heading back to the car park. The site is brilliantly decorated, with little signs announcing events such as a smoke ring contest and a real fireplace that patrons can cozy up to. I do believe that I even heard some traditional Irish music emitting from a nearby rock, though that may have been the cider talking.
The price of admission is a bit steep at $75/person, but this does include a full two hours on site and the aforementioned beverage which is brewed locally. Thankfully, the food options at the Green Dragon Inn and the Shire's Rest (located by the ticketing centre) are incredibly well priced for a tourist attraction with the most expensive meal item being $17 and a $5 bowl of fries being more than enough to feed two people.
I'm not sure that I want to deal with all the hustle and bustle of a tour again, but you can sure bet I would jump at the chance to return if it was for a private function. The Shire would be a lovely place to explore if it wasn't for all those darn people!
We began our tour by waiting in a rather long line. We were eligible for a discount and had spoken to the powers-that-be in advance to reserve a space, but there is no way to pay for your ticket ahead of time unless you book online. Save your sanity, if not your money, book online. With online booking you still must claim your ticket, to do this ignore the large line and head straight for the kiosk on the left hand side of the ticketing centre. Try to arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled departure time, we were 10 minutes early and ended up having to wait for the next tour.
Once battling your way through the queue of the five armies, you can then begin your journey by standing in the appropriate bus queue based upon your tour time. The bus ride is only a short part of the journey as you travel down into the farmland and are ushered into Hobbiton. This is by no means a self-guided tour, but you will have the opportunity to explore various sections before moving along to the next area. The tour guides are friendly and can offer valuable trivia and tales about the creation of the set that you might not hear otherwise.
Perhaps most shocking is the amount of detail that went into the creation of Hobbiton. Each hobbit hole is decorated in accordance with it's inhabitant's hobby or occupation and all the fruit and vegetables dotting the landscape are real and grown fresh in the Shire. The tree overlooking Bag End is not an original feature of the farm and was cut down from a nearby property then reassembled on-site. A dead tree isn't very pretty to look at so Peter Jackson had leaves imported from Taiwan to be wired onto the branches. Similarly, Tolkien's work called for plum trees in the shire, but instead they used miniature apple trees on which the fruit had to be picked off and plums fastened on. Even the wash had to be hung on the lines with care each day before filming could begin just so the grass would be flattened to look more authentic.
Peter Jackson really just might be barking mad. These are things that you would never in a million years notice in the films, but this attention to detail is what makes Hobbiton worth visiting.
Somehow we managed to go on Hobbiton's busiest day to date so it was quite crowded and impossible to get a photo of the raw landscape. According to our guide the best time to go is during June - August, New Zealand's winter. However, even in the coldest evenings the temperature only gets down to 0°C/30°F so if you are visiting from Canada or the North-Eastern side of the States you can probably handle it.
The last stop of the tour and by far my favourite bit was the Green Dragon Inn, which actually is a new structure built by the Alexander family with help from Wingnut Films. This is the only structure on site that you can really go inside as it is a fully functioning pub. This area is also available to hire for corporate functions and weddings. Included in your ticket price is one free drink of either cider, ale, or non-alcoholic ginger beer. Once you pick up your drink you have 20 minutes to explore the inn and the surrounding area before heading back to the car park. The site is brilliantly decorated, with little signs announcing events such as a smoke ring contest and a real fireplace that patrons can cozy up to. I do believe that I even heard some traditional Irish music emitting from a nearby rock, though that may have been the cider talking.
The price of admission is a bit steep at $75/person, but this does include a full two hours on site and the aforementioned beverage which is brewed locally. Thankfully, the food options at the Green Dragon Inn and the Shire's Rest (located by the ticketing centre) are incredibly well priced for a tourist attraction with the most expensive meal item being $17 and a $5 bowl of fries being more than enough to feed two people.
I'm not sure that I want to deal with all the hustle and bustle of a tour again, but you can sure bet I would jump at the chance to return if it was for a private function. The Shire would be a lovely place to explore if it wasn't for all those darn people!
