Hobbiton

(This is the last post in the series from our recent adventure in Rotorua. Why I sandwiched in the post on Marid/Auckland, I don't know. Just felt like it I guess.)



"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole, with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

That is the opening line from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. Jeanne introduced me to the book shortly after we met back in 1971. She lent me her very well used paperback and I read it, and it's sequels, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, while listening to the music of the Moody Blues, which seemed to me to be the perfect accompaniment to the moods set in the books. I have never forgotten the experience. (I should have been studying my organic chemistry during the hours I spent in the company of Bilbo and later Frodo, but now, looking back and considering which did me more good, I think I made the right choice after all.)

Some years back, Hollywood started making movies from the books and now, there have been a total of six of them produced. In case any of you aren't familiar with the books or the subsequent movies, and think possibly that you haven't missed much, since the opening line from The Hobbit makes you think it is a childrens' tale, consider that Each of the movies has earned just under a billion dollars. That is a billion a piece....so far. 

The movies have been amazing. They are perfect examples of what today's film-makers can accomplish with huge budgets and powerful computers. I did enjoy each of them, mostly.

I have almost never liked a movie as well as I have liked the book that inspired it. My greatest disappointment in a book to movie adaptation came when I watched Cannery Row, from the book by John Steinbeck. One exception to this was the movie, The Grapes of Wrath, also by Steinbeck as it happens. That, in my opinion, was very well done and effectively conveyed the message.  

The film-makers made changes from the book in the Hobbit movies, as they so often do, so the films did not completely follow the story line. Further, the movies concentrate a bit too much on the battles that occur. Still, because of my memories of the books, I enjoyed them. So, when we came to live in New Zealand and when I got the chance, twice now, to visit the Hobbiton movie set, I jumped at it with both feet. 

Today's post will cover the tour that we took on the way home from Rotorua.  I'm told that about 640,000 people visit Hobbiton yearly. Our bus held 40 people. That means that they run 16,000 buses through per year or about 44 buses per day. They are closed only on Christmas. Part of my pleasure of this tour was to watch how expertly they managed the logistics of moving that many people through. 

This, in the movie, is the lane along which Gandalf the wizard drives at one point. Frodo meets him and jumps on to his cart.

It's also the route from the bus parking lot to the start of the tour.  

Becca, our tour guide, is outlining the plan for our walk through Hobbiton. 

Meanwhile, another group hehind her is making it's way through the set.  

We learned that none of the interior scenes of the movies were shot here. All of that was done down in Wellington. This is the one Hobbit hole that can be entered. The boys spent a few minutes looking out from the door...

...And from one of the windows. 

This is part way up the Hobbiton hill, looking toward the Green Dragon, the inn in the center of the picture.   

We are approaching the most famous of all Hobbit holes, that of Mr. Bilbo Baggins.

BTW, the tree on top of the hill is an artificial one. The original was cut down after some filming, and it was realized later, that additional shooting would be required. They had to recreate the tree from photos. Becca explained that a couple of the branches are missing right now. They are at the shop being re-leaved. The wind and weather take their toll. 

I think that everyone on the tour wanted a picture of themselves or others in their party at this point. 

And this is another famous door. Samwise Gamgee's house. The setting sun was really bright against the yellow door. 

The long structure to the left of the bridge is the Green Dragon. 

To the left, in front of the Green Dragon Inn,  

and to the right. 

Becca is rushing to get me a mug of dark stout and Arram a mug of apple juice. 

Here is our crew enjoying the comforts of the Inn. We were each given one complimentary drink. The ladies tell me that the light ale they enjoyed was very good, befitting the reputation of the Inn.  

 A Hobbit shaped door that doesn't open,  but a beauty. 

This is the one part of the tour that I didn't like. We had only 10 minutes in the Green Dragon. I could have happily sipped a second stout with Jeanne in front of the fire place. 

The Green Dragon food counter. We made a quick stop here for genuine shire-baked muffins. 

(The Shire is the land or area where Hobbiton is located)

One more quick picture outside the Green Dragon before we leave. The shadows are getting long. It's nearly 4 p.m. 

And, as the sun slipped lower still, we started the walk away from Hobbiton and back to our bus. 

This is the view that was taken not far from the header photo. It's right across the road from the Hobbiton ticket office, cafe, gift shop, bus stop and sizeable parking lots. 

Hobbiton was beautiful, but so is the rest of the real 'shire' surrounding it.  -djf