The Down Under Expedition # 7: A Magical Evening in Middle-Earth

Tourism in New Zealand has benefited mightily from the immense world-wide popularity of Sir Peter Jackson's epic films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  Nowhere is this more true than on a sizable cattle and sheep farm in the countryside of the North Island, where the village of Hobbiton was created for the films and remains today as a tourist attraction bringing in excess of half a million visitors a year.

This might not sound immense if the movie set were in a major metropolitan area, but it's located on the back forty of a large sheep and cattle farm in a rural region near the small town of Matamata, about half way between the small cities of Rotorua and Hamilton, and over 2 hours by road from the nearest major international airport at Auckland.

Anyone who knows my lifelong passion for the Lord of the Rings could readily guess that I would want to visit the film set.  But here's the wrinkle: when I went to the website, I found out that, among other special packages, they offer an evening excursion which includes dinner in the Green Dragon Inn, the tavern frequented by the hobbits in the film.  That totally intrigued me, and I signed up for it.

My main comment, by way of a review, was that the price looked a bit steep ahead of time but the entire event turned out to be worth every penny, and then some.  The weather was absolutely picture-perfect for the entire evening.  The tour was fantastic, informative, interesting, and a great way to get acquainted with some of the ins and outs of filming on location in such an out-of-the-way region.  The evening meal, which included the first round of free beer or cider from the bar, was a true hobbit feast -- in other words, far too much for mere humans to eat -- but we bravely did our best.  The small size of the group (less than 50 of us all told) and the large communal tables got everyone chatting and exchanging travellers' tales, just as things ought to happen in the Green Dragon Inn.  Our hosts were funny, helpful, quite happy to take pictures on our cameras, and generally everything you could want from such an event.

The dinner tour is almost always sold out -- booking well ahead of time is strongly recommended!  It lasts from 6:15 to about 10:45, give or take a few minutes.  If you decide to do this event, there are accommodations in the towns of Tirau and Matamata, each of which is about a 25-minute drive from the farm.

With that by way of intro, come and join me in reliving my trip to Middle Earth.

The first view of the Shire, as you arrive at the visitor's centre, known as the Shire's Rest.

A sign post just at the point where you enter the village.

A collage of some of the many hobbit holes we passed during our walking tour.

An area of the village known as The Dell.  Look closely and see how many hobbit holes you can spot in this one picture!

And here's Bag End, with some fellow who most certainly isn't a hobbit hanging around outside.

The Party Field, and the Party Tree, down the hill below Bag End.

The mill, at the edge of the pool.

The Green Dragon Inn, with the same non-hobbit loitering outside.

Interior views of the Green Dragon.

The dinner tables were loaded at either end with dishes of excellent food.

The real magic of the evening happened after dinner, when we were all equipped with lanterns and taken on a walk around the lower part of the village by night.  A selection of discreet lights illuminated a window here or a door there, and the Party Tree was also subtly lit up.  Here, you see some of those lights reflected in the mirror-calm surface of the pool.

We then stood in the Dell and put out the lanterns, while our guide, Bee, invited us to compose a kind of mental snapshot of the hobbit hole which had seemed most like home to us.  She then had us look upwards at the spectacle of the Milky Way sprawling across the night sky, so much brighter and clearer than you will ever see in any more developed part of the world.  It was a breathtaking image to carry away with us after having such a perfect afternoon and evening in such a remarkable place.

I like to think that J. R. R. Tolkien would have appreciated the attention to detail -- his detail -- which informed the windows, doors, turf roofs, and general rustic atmosphere in this remarkable re-creation of his beloved Hobbiton.

And one final piece of perfect timing -- less than three minutes after I pulled out of the parking lot to drive back to my hotel, the rain started hitting the windshield.