We left Auckland and headed towards Hobbiton, via a town called Cambridge which is famous for racehorses. After a picnic lunch there, we arrived just in time for our prebooked Hobbiton Tour (lucky we had booked the week before from Melbourne as the tours were full). We were whisked away in a tour bus into the middle of a farm with rolling hills to be greeted by a tiny Hobbit village with homes built into the hillside. The gardens were beautifully tended by several full time gardeners to look very natural. The little homes were charming and was filled with character by the multitude of Hobbit-sized props (little axes and wheelbarrows, basket of fruits and veggies, washing hanging on little clotheslines) outside the houses. We ended the tour at the Green Dragon Inn with a pint of ginger beer.
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| Bilbo's Home |
Highlights:
MK: There were lots of different hobbit hole door sizes so that during filming it would a visual trick to size the characters.
MJ: Sir Peter Jackson asked for the oak leaves to be painted a different shade of green because he didn't like it.
MH: I liked Hobbiton and how small everything is. The ginger ale was yummy!
Logbook:
09:00 (54 km) Breakfast of cereal, rolls and nutella.
10:00 (54 km) Check out of motel and leave.
12:00 (219 km) Cambridge. MK accidentally dropped a small Rubik's cube piece in between the gaps in the seat. Almost had to pull the car apart to find it. Had a picnic lunch of rolls, crackers, creamed corn and sausage at the local park.
13:00 (219 km) On the way to Hobbiton.
13:30 (246 km) Hobbiton. Very organised bus ride to movie set. Bus driver told us about how the Alexander's farm got selected to be the movie location. We arrived at the location and saw Bag End overlooking the area of hobbit holes. There were different size, different colour hobbit hole doors. The hobbit garden with lots of vegetables were still being tended to. The hobbit holes had a view of the party tree where the "eleventy-one" birthday party was held. The tour ended at the Green Dragon pub and everyone had an ale - there was a smooth non-alcoholic ginger ale that was really refreshing. Bought a book and a t-shirt.
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| At Hobbiton |
16:45 (246 km) Left Hobbiton.
17:15 (312 km) Arrived at Papamoa Beach - Briony, Andy, Morgan, Finley, Amelie.
18:30 (312 km) Vegetarian spaghetti and had baked cheesecake for dessert.
19:30 (312 km) Went for a walk to Papamoa beach.