On the Road to Hobbiton!

9^th to 13^th February, 2020

Our last sea days….

Sadly we heard that Jim, who had had the stroke and had been evacuated from the ship in Papeete, died that morning, so we were a sad and sombre table tennis group when we reconvened for our next tournament. We held a minute’s silence and remembered both Jim, a cheerful, positive and lovely man and his wife Leslie, who had had to disembark in Papeete.

Our last few days at sea were much the same as all the other days at sea, though we did have the delight of Henry ‘Blowers’ Blofeld OBE give a talk on board. He was in sparkling form, as erudite and funny as ever and it was almost worth staying on the ship after Auckland to hear him speak again.

We had a farewell dinner in the Ocean Grill for our fellow dining companions and I have to say how lucky we have been in having their companionship for 6 weeks at sea. we had formed into a very cosy, tight-knit bunch and it was with some sadness to say goodbye eventually. The same was true of our fellow table tennis players who wished us well on our further travels.

We did have one last destination though before Auckland……

Hobbiton!!!

14th February, 2020 – St Valentine’s Day.

We docked at Mount Maunganui, near to Tauranga on the eastern side of North Island (safely far away from erupting volcanoes) and I had organised a rental car to take Val and me the 90 minutes drive to Matamata and the film location of Hobbiton. At least it was supposed to be 90 minutes, but we got a bit lost, so it was a bit longer, but I had allowed considerable extra time, so all was well. Indeed, we even had time to stop off for a loo break and a short walk at McLaren Falls Park, which proved to be both delightful, peaceful and full of black swans.

The scenery was a mix of farmland and hills as we drove through the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park. It was a bit of a worry as everything was so brown and we were fearful that the usually lush hills of Hobbiton would not be so green. After a bit of searching (the signage for the location is a bit discreet until you are almost onto it), we arrived with about 10 minutes to spare before we were supposed to check in for our time slot for the tour.

It was very well organised so much so they had even laid on a golf buggy for Val, driven by the excellent James from Staffordshire (late gap year). We boarded a bus first and were driven as a group to the site. You would be forgiven for not knowing it was there as it is cleverly hidden. I was worried it might end up as a bit of a let down, but my fears were unfounded and it was absolutely delightful.

Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films saw the farm (owned by the Alexander family since 1978) from the air. Work began in March 1999 to transform the farm into the world of the Shire including building the facades for 37 hobbit holes and associated gardens and hedges, a mill and double arch bridge, and erecting a 26-tonne (29-ton) oak above Bag End that had been growing near Matamata and which was cut down and recreated on site complete with 3,000 artificial leaves. Apparently Peter Jackson didn’t like the colour, so they hired cranes and repainted each one. Thatch on the pub and mill roofs was made from rushes growing on the farm, but apparently there were no thatchers in New Zealand, so 3 were flown in from the UK. The original set was not built to last, the hobbit hole facades having been constructed from untreated timber, ply and polystyrene and partially torn down after filming. In 2010, the set was rebuilt in a more permanent fashion for the Hobbit filming for which began in 2011. The actual filming took 15 days!

OK, some photos. Keeping this to a minimum has been even more difficult than seabirds, sunsets and dolphins combined!

Lots of doorways, but nothing much behind as all interior filming was done in Wellington.

The abundance of wild life was really impressive, a reflection on the gardening…

There were a great deal of nice touches that really enhanced the feeling that the actual hobbits had just popped out for a while and would be back later….

The landscaping was really effective too….

And finally a mishmash of other sights…..

OK, time to get this posted.

More soon from out trip round New Zealand