Day 366 Part 1: Hobbiton

It’s only appropriate that after hiking Mount Doom, our hobbits would return to the Shire. Doyle booked our official Hobbiton Behind the Scenes tour 1-2 months in advance and we couldn’t be more excited. Doyle went full Bilbo Baggins with his pipe and red vest while Mary manifested modern day Pippin. We arrived early enough to order a full English breakfast and toasty to recover more calories from yesterday.

You start the tour by hopping on a bus and watching a welcome video from Peter Jackson talking about the Alexander Farm and how they searched New Zealand with helicopters and aerial drones for the perfect location. The Alexander Farm was selected due to its rolling hills and perfect party tree for Bilbo’s birthday. The truth is that after filming LoTR, they tore everything down and had to rebuild it for the Hobbit Trilogy. The Alexander farm family had been asked by neighbors and tourists to see the farm so this time they built the Hobbiton set to be permanent for future tours.

Our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and pointed out where camera crews stored equipment and where the working camps were for actors and crew to sleep on set. She also played clips from the movie so we could see where scenes occurred.

We finally entered Hobbiton and it was a bit of “don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry”. It’s wild to see this world brought to life for a movie we’ve loved since 2001. There was one couple fully dressed and couldn’t help but take pictures at every chance. They pulled Doyle aside for a team picture (Mary didn’t make the cut).

Our tour guide continued to walk us through Hobbiton, pointing out houses such as Bag End and Sam’s house. We also stood at Bilbo’s Long Expected Party tent and learned the mechanics behind the firework scene and the how the party tree hoisted up the tent.

Newly added to the tour was the ability to actually walk inside a Hobbit hole, which wasn’t included until this year! It was great to have Kieran (our Gandalf) along because he needed to bend down to avoid hitting his head. The creators were meticulous with detail and the fire in the home was 100% real.

After walking through the hobbit hole, we stepped outside to glimpse the one and only Green Dragon! Continue to part II to see more.

Spots:
The Shire
Hobbiton
Bag EndLeggi altro