Hobbiton

January 14th – this date I knew because I pre-purchased tickets to Hobbiton.  Good on ya, Misha.

Hobbiton is totally touristy and for Lord of the Ring fanatics – perfect!  I loved it.  The kids have not seen the movies, but it’s so cute that one can still enjoy it without knowing the story. We ate a Hobbit lunch and had a tour around the Shire.  It rained off and on but no one seemed to mind. In fact the rain felt appropriate especially when sitting by the fire in the Green Dragon.

It’s really a beautiful spot and can be appreciated purely for the landscape. Peter Jackson discovered the farm while scouting locations over NZ in a helicopter.  For Lord of the Rings the Shire was temporary, but for The Hobbit films the Alexander family, the farm owners, negotiated that the team build permanent sets that could later be used for tourism.  Brilliant.