Hamilton & Hobbiton, North Island

From Auckland to Hamilton, then.......Middle Earth!
Our drive from Auckland to Hamilton was pretty uneventful though we again passed through beautiful countryside as it is in the heart of dairy farming country. We arrived in Hamilton with enough time to wander and have a look around - this was being used as a base to visit 2 of the areas most visited sites. Hamilton is officially NZ's fourth-largest city, one of Hamilton's more unusual public artworks is a life-sized statue of 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' writer Richard O'Brien, aka Riff Raff, the time-warping alien from the planet Transsexual. It looks over a small park on the site of the former Embassy Theatre where O'Brien worked as a hairdresser. There is also a chance to do the time-warp to camera and the public toilets are based in a container painted as Frankenfurter's laboratory. We had lunch sitting outside the Waikato museum in a very pleasant seating area which had a colourful water feature - Michael Parekowhai's 'Tongue of the Dog' Sculpture, it tells the Maori legend behind the creation of the Waikato River.
We headed back to the hotel and collected what we needed for the Hobbiton event and using the Sat Nav headed to 501 Buckland Road - the way it took us was very reminiscent of the roads and scenery around the Cotswolds. However, when we got there the notice at the exit to the car park recommends visitors to turn RIGHT out of the car park NOT left as we had come in! We decided to follow their advice on the way back as it would be in the dark!
Due to copyright, all the movie sets around NZ were actually dismantled after the filming of TLOTR, but the Alexander family who owned the sheep farm negotiated with Peter Jackson to keep their Hobbit holes which were then rebuilt in more sturdy materials for the filming of The Hobbit. The tour we were booked on was the evening banquet Tour. Our tour started at twilight and we were driven down in a group to the car park at the entrance to the set through the Alexander's farmland. The group were then divided into two and each had a guide - some had worked at the film site or been extras, so the tour was packed full of interesting stories and anecdotes about the making of all the films. We had time at each stop to ask questions or take pictures and our guide also offered to take pictures of us as well. In both groups there were tourists who were dedicated 'Hobbit-botherers' - for one couple it was a treat within their honeymoon, the other the partner was dragged there with her Hobbit partner - who was dressed up including Hobbit feet! Once we got down to the Green Dragon Inn we were able to choose a mug of Ale or Cider to create a convivial atmosphere before the unveiling of the banquet. Counting down from 10, our newly weds were the ones to do the 'reveal'!
An amazing spread to help ourselves and others to; pulling apart chickens, passing mushrooms and potatoes or munching around a lamb shank. Once most people had eaten their fill dessert arrived!
After dinner, our guide took us back out to stroll the winding paths of Hobbiton, illuminating our way with individually hand-held lanterns, path lighting and the glittering starlight. We started by heading around the lake and meeting at the party meadow where we made a circle, our guide sang and everyone had to dance in some way 'for our supper'. further stories were told on the way back past the Hobbit holes and some were lit for us to take evening photos.
Our coach trip back was filled with further info, reminders to look back at Hobbiton and the Green Dragon for last views and corny Hobbiton jokes like:
"Two elves walked into a bar. Two hobbits laughed and then walked under"
It was an amazing evening with a very mixed bunch of 'Travellers' though all were really friendly and entered into the spirit of the event. A longish drive back in the dark in a car and coach train initially and a late night to bed - but what an evening!!Read more