Hobbiton Movie Set: The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies

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The humongous and spectacular 1250-acre farmland outside Matamata is where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies’ filming took place. Producers discovered the Alexander farm in 1998 and set construction started in 1999.

To create 39 Hobbit Holes, materials such as timber, ply, and polystyrene were used. I was astonished when our tour guide told us that the oak tree that overlooks Bag End is actually an artificial tree. To make this happen, an oak tree was brought in from Matamata and artificial leaves from Taiwan were individually wired onto the tree.

Later on, the tree was rebuilt for the Hobbit Trilogy in 2009. The whole structure of the tree was artificial this time, made of steel and silicon. You can’t even tell the tree is not real if no one tells you.

The Mill and the double arch bridge were made using scaffolding, ply, and polystyrene. Rushes were cut to make the thatch for the roofs of the Green Dragon Inn and The Mill.

The whole movie set structures were made to become permanent and only require maintenance to keep them nice. It took 2 years to finish the full project.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy took 3 months to film starting December 1999. The Hobbit Trilogy took only 12 days starting October 2011. There were 400 people on site at its peak.

There are lots of frogs in the ponds. During filming, the frogs were so noisy that Peter Jackson instructed employees to catch and move them to the next farm. Somehow they kept coming back, so they had to be moved again and again. After filming was completed, all of them were brought back.

Auckland Travel Blog: Part 4 | New Zealand

Heading for the Hobbits in Hobbiton

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Once our tour coach picked everyone up, we started our trip to Hobbiton. Auckland city is just like another big city in North America or Europe. But once I crossed the Auckland city border, I was shocked at how beautiful New Zealand was.

We were going through the Waikato region of the North Island, a regions well known for its thoroughbred industry and dairy farming. The gorgeous scenery of dairy farms and the Hauraki Plains were more picturesque than post cards. The lush green mountains and plains were full of sheep and so green that it’s hard to even imagine.

Sometimes we were passing through small Kiwi towns and those felt unreal too because everything was just too beautiful.

Once in Hobbiton, we got off our tour coach and there were cafes and gift shops. Here, I had a chance to have some coffee and a snack. The place was full of tourists and there were big tour buses taking people for the Hobbiton guided tour.

This picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm area is where The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films were shot. The Hobbit holes, Green Dragon Inn, the Mill and other structures are still remaining and have turned into popular tourist spots.

It’s mind blowing to see how a Waikato farmland was transformed into The Shire from Middle-Earth for movie making. Here I experienced the Hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn, the Mill and other structures from the movie set.

When the Hobbiton site, the Alexander Farm, was discovered in 1998, the New Zealand Army had to use heavy earthmoving machinery to build a 1.5 km road to the site and to establish the initial set development.

Auckland Travel Blog: Part 3

1-Day Hobbiton, Rotorua & Waitomo Caves Tours

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My 2nd day in New Zealand was full of tours and the tour bus was scheduled to come at 6:30 in the morning. So I woke up around 5:00 AM to get prepared. Whenever I am in a foreign country, I get worried about not getting up on time and missing my tours, so I always set up 2 alarms. This has made me not miss any tours so far.

It was too early to go outside and have breakfast. I always keep some cereal breakfast bars with me for situations like this, so I made good use of my breakfast bar and hotel-supplied coffee. As I was waiting in the hotel lobby and keeping an eye on the street, the tour coach came right on time.

New Zealand is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean made of two main islands: North and South Island. On this tour, I will be staying within North Island where three-quarters of New Zealanders live and all the big cities are located.

Hobbiton, Rotorua and Waitomo Caves are all located in North Island and I will be able to complete this full trip in one day and still come back to Auckland to sleep at night.

The tour coach was a late model Mercedes Mini Bus and its operator/guide was very friendly. Somehow, he figured out that I was from North America. We would stop at a few other hotels to pick up more customers before starting our trip to Hobbiton through Waikato. Reaching Hobbiton would take 2 – 2.5 hours and the scenery is supposed to be gorgeous through the Kaimai mountain Ranges and Hauraki Plains.

Auckland Travel Blog: Part 2

New Zealand Travel Blog: Auckland Highlights & Impressions

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The President Hotel in Downtown Auckland

After getting off the SkyBus, it took me about 5 minutes to reach the President Hotel, which is located in the Central Business District (CBD) in the heart of downtown Auckland.

When I booked this hotel months ago, this used to be a Best Western Hotel. Then all of a sudden, while I was in Melbourne I received an email from Best Western Australasia that the President Hotel had decided to leave the Best Western Group. My options were to either book another Best Western Hotel in Auckland or stay with the President Hotel as they would honour already booked reservations, so I decided to keep my reservations at the President hotel.

The President Hotel is nothing fancy but an OK hotel. The lobby area was unimpressive and so was the room. My room had a window, but I was not able to open the curtains and enjoy the sunlight because another building was blocking any sort of view whatsoever and it was the backside of that building, so it was very dark.

The best feature of this hotel is its location. I had no problem grabbing coffee or food because within a block or two there are many restaurants and street food vendors. There was even a Countdown – NZ Supermarket right next door where I went many times to buy whatever I needed.

I never got to try the hotel’s dining or buffet breakfast in the hotel because it made no sense when so many options to eat were available right next door.

Another feature I enjoyed was that I was able to keep an eye on the street sitting inside the lobby, so I wouldn’t miss my tour pickup. The Sky Tower is visible from the hotel and you can walk to it within a few minutes.

New Zealand Travel Blog: Auckland Highlights & Impressions

Auckland Travel Blog: Part 1

At the AKL Airport

Just like my experience in Melbourne, I didn’t have to face any human immigration officers at the airport. The automated machines process immigration for select visa-free countries called eGate and I was able to pass through immigration without any issue. Traveling with only one carry-on also helped.

SkyBus to Downtown Auckland

The most affordable way to reach downtown from the Auckland Airport is to take the SkyBus. You can purchase tickets ahead of your trip online or at the airport. The ticket booth is located right at the bus pickup spot at the international terminals in the Auckland Airport. Look for the SkyBus pickup spot and ticket booth near Door 8 at the international terminals.

The was a young female employee who greeted me at the bus spot and she showed me where to wait and mentioned the next bus would arrive in 10 minutes. I was the first one there waiting for that bus, but later on more customers were coming in.

If you buy a ticket ahead of time, you get discounts. I paid only NZD $17.50 on the SkyBus website; you will find tools there to figure where you need to get off based on your address. My destination was the President Hotel at 35 Victoria Street West, Auckland downtown. So I needed to get off at 175 Queen St Stop 7051.

The bus operator was extremely friendly and once I told him where I needed to get off, he made sure I got off at the right spot and explained to me that I still had to walk a couple of blocks to the hotel. He was my first hands-on experience on how nice and helpful New Zealanders are.