I'm Off On An Adventure!

Hobbiton

One of the most magical tourist locations in New Zealand (and possibly the world) is the Shire, located outside of Auckland on the North Island.

Assuming you've seen The Lord of the Rings movies, directed by Peter Jackson, exploring the rolling hills and mountains of New Zealand is like taking your own journey through Middle Earth. (Granted, you'll probably be in cars and buses and planes, not running in armor with the majesty and grace of the Fellowship.)

However, the one place where you don't need much imagination to place yourself in those iconic scenes lies in the Hobbiton movie set on the Alexander's farm.

In the early 2000's, Peter Jackson found this little farm and immediately envisioned the idyllic scenery that would help create a true Hobbit paradise. They set up everything with careful attention to detail, missing nothing, not even the plum trees that were only seen for three seconds of the extended edition of Return of the King. They came, they filmed, and they packed up and left once they wrapped up.

After the massive success of these films, Lord of the Rings tourism and merchandise became a permanent staple of New Zealand's attractions all over the country.

SO when The Hobbit was announced, Peter Jackson and the Alexanders, being the clever business people that they are, saw an opportunity to extend that experience into something truly magical.


They set up the Hobbit holes, the vegetable gardens, the iconic bridge, the Green Dragon Pub, the whole shebang once again. This time, however, they were to become a permanent installment!

Now, you can travel to Hobbiton and relive any LOTR fan's dream.
You walk through the gate, along the stone path where Bilbo once shouted that he was off on an adventure.

You wander past the little home of a gardener, with a yellow round door maybe three feet tall, complete with a little blue mailbox.

You stop to take pictures outside a home in the hill that has smoke curling in tendrils from the chimney peeking out of the grass beside a clothesline drying impossibly small Hobbit-children-sized outfits.

You walk around the fresh garden full of delectable pumpkins, fresh lettuce, and assorted veggies tended to by professional gardeners living on-site.

Then you meander up to Bag End at the top of the hill and admire the synthetic tree on top of it and marvel that some poor soul has to individually paint thousands and thousands of those leaves twice a year. 


You're feeling a bit parched now, so you wander back down the hill and over the bridge Gandalf once took his horse and cart over. You park it at the Green Dragon for a pint (yes, Pippin, they come in pints) and appreciate the party decorations in the field that are ready year-round for another roaring birthday party!

And when the tour is over, you sadly make your way around the lake toward the gate, knowing that your adventure here is over.

Lucky for you, there's quite the gift shop at the end of the tour, as per usual.

Auckland, New Zealand