There and Back Again: A Musicians Tale - Hobbiton New Zealand

All thirty of us sat patiently as the last few people got onto the bus. Nobody had even as little as a half a smile on their face. The excitement radiated into thick clouds that you could feel in the bus. As it got moving, I looked around and saw that some people were in costume while other people brought some of their favorite memorabilia with them. We drove for an hour through gorgeous New Zealand countryside and passed through farmland where the cattle and sheep ran through the rolling green hills. Finally, we saw the sign we were looking for. At first it was too far away to see correctly. Some of us stood up in our chairs a little and squinted our eyes, hoping that our pupils would focus in on the text on the sign. We got close enough after a few seconds to read it clearly. The thick, now heavy, clouds of excitement thundered and poured as we all cheered screamed out loud in joy. We finally made it! We arrived at Hobbiton, NZ: The movie set for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and The Hobbit movies.

Sheep grazing the hills.

Hobbiton NZ.

            We pulled along side a two-story building that is used as the attraction’s main office. The bus doors opened and a young, skinny teenager got on board. The doors closed behind him and we started to move again. The kid got onto the loudspeaker and introduced himself as Tim and he was going to be our tour guide. We drove through some small hills and Tim explained that the New Zealand arm cleared and created these roads especially for the movie. At first we passed some of the more “lame” sections of the tour such as where the movie trailers were kept and where they kept the animals for the films (which were no longer there).

We at last made it to a parking lot where we stopped and Tim announced that we were going to do the rest of the tour on foot. We all ran out of the bus, pushing and shoving, eager to get to the site. After we all got off the bus, Tim led us there. About 60 seconds on a dirt trail revealed its self to the site. It was surreal to look at. The rolling green hills with lush gardens (real ones) and several hobbit holes tucked away in each and every one of the hills. From that point nobody heard a word Tim said. We were all awe struck. Cameras came flying out of every direction. All of us took pictures of every square centimeter of the place. The gardens bore real fruit, which Tim said we were allowed to have so I picked and apple from a tree and took a bite. It was sweet and very delicious.

The Shire.

Hobbit hole.

Every hobbit hole we visited had a different look and different colored round door. They recreated brooms and wooden cages and old picket fences accurately. No detail was too small. Everything was perfect. After walking around for 20 minutes or so we finally got to the main attraction. We walked in front of Bag End: the home of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins. It was scary seeing this image that was burned into our minds from a movie screen, and now seeing it in real life. The detail of the stain glass windows down to the mailbox was flawless. Above the hobbit hole was a large oak tree that was created from plywood, paint and other materials to make it look exactly how it was described in the books. Bag End was on the highest hill of the site and overlooked the rest of the hobbit holes, the Party Tree, the Party Field, the mill and the stream and lake. The view made you feel as if you were in the story yourself. It was an amazing feeling.

Bag End.

The view from Bag End.

We walked down the trail from Bag End and made it to Samwise Gamgee's home. His home was larger than most of any of the other hobbit holes; but not nearly as large as Bag End. It had some laundry out on a line outside which was a nice touch.

Moving on, we reached a bridge that crossed the stream and passed a working water mill. On the other side of the bridge you are lead to the Green Dragon Tavern where they served food and beer. Going inside, the wood detail was the first thing I noticed. Everything was carved and decorated with great care and detail. A large fireplace was off to the side, which had several wooden dinner tables in front of it. The chairs were upholstered in old leather and varnished dark wood. Once again, no Monday details were over looked. Everything looked as if it belonged to hobbits themselves. It added to the feel of the entire place. I ordered a sandwich and had water that was served in handmade ceramic cups.

Green Dragon Tavern.

The mill.

After being at the site for a few hours, we need to head back to the ship. None of us wanted to go. We joked that we should just live in the vacant hobbit holes and just live off the fruits and vegetables in the gardens. The place was so nice that nobody wanted to get back to reality. For a few short hours, we got to escape from the mundane life on the ship and get transported to this other world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. We managed to forget about work, crew safety drills, company policy and standards, filling out paper work and escape completely to The Shire.           -DB

The garden.

Bag End.

Bag End.

Samwise Gamgee's laundry.

Samwise Gamgee's home

Samwise Gamgee's home.