I’m going on an adventure!
The rolling hills, the lush greens and the gem like waters, New Zealand is just like the Middle Earth depicted in The Lord of Rings and The Hobbits.
Unlike many movie studio tours, where tourists see all the setups and fascias, Hobbiton feels real. It is real, in a sense. The village was created on an active farmland in Matamata on the North Island. The set was built over a year before filming to give the plants time to cover the landscapes; as Director, Peter Jackson, wanted to give audience the feeling that the Hobbits had lived there for hundreds of years. The set was originally built for filming The Lord of The Rings, then rebuilt for filming The Hobbits. We walked through the village just like we would through any small county villages. The guide would point out where various scenes were shot and explained how some of the interesting effects where created. At the end of the tour we all step into the Green Dragon to enjoy a drink of the local brew. It is a special beer only brewed for Green Dragon. If you are a fan of the movies, or not, Hobbiton is a worthwhile stop.
