Hobbiton and Luging

“For the time will soon come when Hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.” – Galadriel

Hobbiton

Today, we go to Hobbiton!

When the prospect of going to New Zealand came up, Hobbiton immediately made the list of must visit places for me. While I’m not the biggest Lord of the Rings fan, I’ve enjoyed the the series a lot and really wanted to visit the Shire! After checking out from our Airbnb, its a short 15 minute drive to the Hobbiton welcome centre. Because Hobbiton is on private property, the only way to get in is through an organized tour. We checked into our allotted tour time slot and hung out until it was our turn to go! After boarding the bus, we are introduced to our guide for the rest of the tour. From there the bus drives across the street and along a small farm road for about 10 minutes before arriving at the drop off. After getting off the bus, we were at the mouth of Hobbiton!

The Shire

To be honest I didn’t know what to expect. I know its the movie set they used to film the movie, but our guide also explained it as a working farm. So after walking through the entrance path and seeing it open up, I was amazed at how expansive the Shire looks! Not only does it truly look like the home of the hobbits with multiple dwellings that have their own character. It also looks like the filming is still set to continue. It looks as if nothing has moved or changed since the movie was filmed.

In fact, there’s so much attention to detail that there are probably many things I must have missed! There are steam machines in each dwelling to show the appearance of working chimneys. A chess game left unfinished. There is honey that looks packaged and ready to sell and even bread that looks eerily real. It truly looks like the hobbits are off somewhere for the day and would return soon. Its very cool to see and impressive to realize this is all for a movie and some of these details will likely only get a second of screen time. (If that).

Bag End

Eventually, our guide leads us up a small hill. At the top of the hill we find, likely, the most famous house in the Shire: Bag end. Or Bilbo Baggins’ house. Its easily the most recognizable house from the movies and is the home of one of the major characters. Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to enter the home. But our guide says that because its a movie set there’s actually nothing inside, only a few square feet of walking space. In another hobbit dwelling we were given the opportunity to go inside and its true, its fairly bare bones behind the door.

From Bag End we head down the hill into the Shire fairgrounds, Past Samwise Gamgee’s house towards the Green Dragon Inn. If you are familiar with the movie you’ll remember that the fair grounds is where they threw Bilbo’s farewell party!

After a little bit of walking we arrive at the bridge to the Green Dragon Inn. At the bridge is a beautiful mill with a working water wheel. Personally, I think the view from this bridge is probably one of the best views of the Shire with a great view of the lake.

Green Dragon Inn

Past the mill we arrive at the Green Dragon Inn, which is also part of Lord of the Rings Lore. Included in the tour is a complimentary beverage. What’s unique about these beverages is that they are exclusive to Hobbiton.  I went with the Amber Ale and wasn’t disappointed! I don’t think its the most amazing ale I’ve ever had, but the idea that it’s unique and a cool drink after a “warmish” day and walk really hit the spot! 

After a little time to enjoy the Inn and explore the surroundings, it was time to return to the bus and back to the welcome centre. We walk along the other side of the lake, which offers some spectacular final views of the Shire capping off an amazing journey to Middle Earth.

All in all I think Hobbiton is a can’t miss stop for those that follow the series or not. Yes its a bit pricey and you do have a limited amount of time while there. But I think the level of detail and uniqueness of this place makes it a very worthwhile target for any visitor to New Zealand.

Bugger Cafe

With our Hobbiton visit over, we arranged a return visit to our airBnB because Suzy really wanted a chance to pet the animals. Our host was nice enough to wait for us and we drove back and spent some time with some horses, sheep and cows.

At this point, our host also suggested that we visit a cafe nearby for lunch called Bugger Cafe. Bugger Cafe is a small lunch spot that, aside from having some tasty sandwiches and food, also has a unique decor. littered on the walls are photos of “fails”. Things like trucks that are too tall to fit under a bridge, or boats capsizing due to miscalculations. So while you wait for your food to be made you can peruse the wall and have a chuckle or two. I ordered a beef stew and after the deep fried fish and chips of last night really hit the spot.

Skyline Luging

With lunch over, we make the hour drive to our next stop: Rotorua. After arriving in the afternoon and checking into our next airBnB we head out to Skyline Rotorua. When researching some things to do, our group settled on luging. We’d seen some videos and thought it looked pretty cool! After buying the evening package, we hopped on the Gondola, got our helmets and lined up to luge. Its really fun because unlike go-carting, the only propulsion you have is gravity. All you have control over are the brakes and the steering, so you can go as fast or slow as you are comfortable with. I think the beautiful day that we did this and the exhilaration of speeding down the mountain made this a perfect afternoon activity for us!

This was done with my phone zippered upright in my fanny pack, so its going to be shaky!

Ice Cream and Night Market

After Luging, our next order of business is food. But first, Gimpy had an ice cream shop she really wanted to visit called Lady Jane’s Ice Cream Parlour. She’s a bit of an ice cream connoisseur so it was a must do. What’s wrong with ice cream before dinner anyways?!

With Ice Cream in hand we started strolling through Rotorua and surpsingly stumbled upon the Rotorua Night Market. Its this multi block street fair. There are tents setup to sell all sorts of goods, but also many food stalls as well. This was perfect for us to choose whatever we felt like and enjoy the great vibe with live music. I was feeling “noodley” and picked up a Pad thai from one of the Thai food stands.

We spent a most of the evening at the night market. Eventually, hopping into our car and heading back to the AirBnB. With the excitement of Hobbiton in the morning, we decided to watch the Lord of the Rings! The first 10 minutes held even more meaning now because we were “just there”. But after that, Gimpy faded soon after. Eventually we all turned in with thoughts of hobbits and wizards in our head.