Hobbiton, the Village From the Lord of the Rings.

Upon his return, he tries to convince many Hollywood studios to finance the crazy project to adapt "The Lord of the Rings" to the cinema as a trilogy.

What is truly unique in New Zealand is the vast diversity of landscapes condensed within a same territory. The decisive argument to convince producers is precisely the possibility to cut costs by filming the entire project within a same country. Even the special effects were all produced in Wellington.

There is no need to introduce the "Lord of the Rings", the second masterpiece written by J.R.R Tolkien, following "The Hobbit".

The first trilogy is released in theatres between the years 2001 and 2003. The worldwide success of the trilogy owes much to the quality of its special effects and its beautiful sets.

Thanks to a flawless realism, they invite the viewer into a complex universe which manages to be wonderful without being too childish.

It is no exaggeration to say that these films have more contributed to the promotion of the country than any other advertising campaign (the immigration services even created a "Middle Earth" stamp for the passports). And because the public demand remains strong, the "Hobbit" is also brought to screen between 2012 and 2014. The fans welcome the prequel with enthusiasm and the studios earn a billion of dollars!

Today, we are going to explore the Hobbiton film location in New Zealand.We will discover how Tolkien imagined the village of the Hobbits, and how Peter Jackson's teams succeed to transpose the author's vision into the real world.

A peaceful world, in total isolation which is nearly a utopia if not a heaven on Earth. Tolkien had drawn up an accurate map with an area of 55 000 km2, 193 km wide and 241 km long exactly.

The average height for the Hobbits is about three feet and they do not wear shoes to cover their hairy ankles. Their favourite activity is to organize fairs between neighbours, which contrast with the perilous adventures coming later in the story.

Hobbiton is one of the many villages scattered throughout the shire where homes have the appearance of holes dug into the hillside. The most beautiful of these strange houses arouse jealousy of everyone: Here is Bag End, the residence that Bilbo bequeaths to Frodo at the beginning of the “Lord of the Rings”.

Peter Jackson has decided to recreate this complex world in New Zealand, but time was running short! The challenge goes far beyond the realization of a single movie set. There was back then an entire village to build, and nobody knew how to start.

The vision of J.R.R Tolkien is strictly observed. It is almost too good to be true.

It is also necessary to seek permission from the owners of the place. You can imagine the surprise of a farmer’s family who had never heard anything about Tolkien's books before.

Once the authorizations granted, the construction can begin. But if the location corresponds to the desires of the director, there is still an entire Hobbit village to build!

The design team creates all the preliminary sketches and even a reduced model of five square meters. Nothing is left to chance on such a big project.

The production gives the authorization to start, and even the New Zealand army is mobilized to assist the film staff to clear the ground. In March 1999, more than 5000 m3 of soil is displaced to create 37 hobbit holes in the hills.

While the security services are keeping away the curious fans, the decorators are giving life to the village with a lot of polystyrene and paint.

The stone bridge and the windmill are soon completed, but a tree is supposed to be above the home of Bilbo! But is not a problem for the team! An oak of 26 tonnes is uprooted twenty kilometers from there, and replanted in the right place with fake leaves being glued one by one!

Meanwhile, gardeners have begun to sow the grass which must be ready to welcome actors and 400 technicians. The village scenes are filmed during only three months and the dismantling begins immediately after. Only seventeen hobbit holes will escape demolition, but all the beautiful decorations are removed.

Hobbiton has become a ghost town in ruins and history could have ended there.

But the incredible success of the “Lord of the Rings” in theaters changes everything. In 2011, Peter Jackson and his team are back to Hobbiton to film the long-awaited prequel, “The Hobbit, an unexpected journey”.

Rebuilt in wood and stone, now open to the public with all its decorations, Hobbiton is here to stay. Let's start our visit without delay!

The trip Hobbiton is passing through fields covered by sheep and is only a 15 minutes’ drive. The bus driver is an old kiwi nicknamed "Big John" who knows everything about Peter Jackson's trilogies and will reveal you some secrets about the filming.

Contrary to what I hoped before coming, we are not allowed to circulate freely in the village.

Because of the thieves who were robbing decorations, we must now consider Hobbiton as an open-air museum with a defined path to follow.

Five gardeners are working full time to keep the village beautiful, so please do not touch anything and stay on the path!

One must see the bright side of things, the guided tour helps to understand how the movies were created and the whole artistic process. The guide presents the main village places and the moment when they appear in the film. This proves to be useful because the village was expanded between the two trilogies, and it now possesses 44 different hobbit houses.

Wooden doors are painted in different colours, and Sam Gamgee's is yellow. Wooden fences, mailboxes and every of objects seem to be here for centuries. The eye to detail is striking, and I would not even be surprised to see a Hobbit at the bend of a trail.

And the best is yet to come! You will immediately recognize “Bag End”, Bilbo's house, topped by an oak. Accessible by a small stone staircase, the house overlooks the entire village. This is the exact place, on the wooden bench, where Gandalf and Bilbo are smoking during the preparations for the party, at the beginning of the Lord of the Ring.

It all fits perfectly, the green door is half open and we perceive the beginning of a corridor. But do not expect to go further, all the interior scenes were filmed in a studio in Wellington, capital of New Zealand.

Don't worry, you will have the opportunity to explore the interior of a house today. First I will take a picture of us in front of Bag End, then we'll pay ourselves a drink at the Green Dragon Inn!

Impossible not to be moved when crossing the stone bridge that Gandalf borrows at the beginning of the first film.

Right after the watermill you'll find yourself in front of the splendid landscape that appears in “The Fellowship of the Ring”.

The Green Dragon Inn figure can be seen during the first part of “The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey”, but all interior scenes were in fact filmed in a studio. Considering the success of the village's visits, the production decided to recreate the entire inn on site for real.

The atmosphere is just amazing, I even dare to say that I prefer this place to the rest of the village. The interior is even more impressive than the exterior. Our tickets include a free drink. You have a choice of beers, ciders or ginger beer, all served in mugs that I would be happy to bring back as a souvenir.

If the two large and comfortable rooms can host one hundred guests, we are, alas, only allowed to stay here twenty minutes. Another group of visitors arrives, and our guide is already waiting for us near our bus. What a pity, I would be so happy if the Green Dragon could become my daily pub.

For the lucky ones, Alexander Farm will be the last stop on the tour. Bottle-feeding a cute lamb is a moving experience and this could be one of the best memories of your trip in New Zealand.

One could expect a significant souvenir shop but "The Shire Store" turns out to be a real disappointment. I advise you to keep your savings for thevisit of Weta Cave in Wellington. Nevertheless, they sell a nice map showing the Hobbit filming locations in New Zealand which proves to be a good souvenir even if a bit expensive.

The film set was almost completely dismantled after the filming of the “Lord of the Rings”.My first visit of the village in 2010 was more a kind pilgrimage than anything else. But this time, with the complete renovation of the decorations, Hobbiton is a unique experience and worth the trip.

One must admit that the visit of 2 hours is quite expensive. However, even at $75 this remains cheaper than the majority of the activities in New Zealand.

Compared to other filming locations of the trilogy, there is no need to use the imagination to recreate the magic of the movies.I recommend, however, to see the “Lord of the Ring” and “The Hobbit” before coming here. This will help you to recognize many more details, and the immersion in the universe of Tolkien will be even stronger.

The quality of the reconstruction outranks all movie sets I have visited. I imagine Tolkien himself would have loved visiting this village and his best fans will be happy no matter the price. But even if you have not seen the movies, this is a visit you should consider seriously.

You should avoid coming at midday during the summer school vacations. There are more than 2000 visitors per day at this period of the year.

If you do not enjoy the group visits, you can sign up for a“Private Tour”, but you will pay twice the price while there is a simple solution.

I have noticed that the majority of tours are booked between 11am and 4pm.

Outside this period, attendance drops dramatically and the visit won't be rushed by a guide perhaps a bit tired of repeating the same explanations again and again.

Taking pictures without having anyone in your camera's field will be easier.

If we do not count the duration of the bus ride, I would say that the visit of the village occupies about one hour and a half.

Because Hobbiton is approximately at 1h30 drive from the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, you can combine both activities during the same day.

The “Lord of the Rings” is far from being the only film to have been produced in New Zealand.

Visit the beach of Cathedral Cove which can be seen in the “Prince Caspian” from the second movie of the “Narnia Chronicles” trilogy.

If you have more questions, I invite you to read the Q&A section of our friend Ben the Kiwi. Please remember that our team would love to receive news from your New Zealand trip. If you come to Hobbiton, don't forget to send us your best pictures, we will publish them on Kiwipal!