A Day in The Shire

I spent the morning at the Hobbiton move set where scenes of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were filmed. After Lord of the Rings was filmed, the set was demolished and the land returned to its natural state. When the Hobbit was filmed, everything had to be re-built to match exactly. The owners of the farm where the set was constructed managed to negotiate terms such that the set would be built of permanent materials for The Hobbit, and then left in place after filming so that it could be developed as a tourist attraction. Now hundreds of people a day take tours through Hobbiton to see the set. Lots of pictures today and I’m going to let the photos do most of the talking, but I just wanted to note the incredible attention to detail in the construction of the set. It looks not only realistic, but also lived in. It was pretty impressive.


Tours originate in Matamata, though you can drive to Shire’s Rest and pick up a tour there if you wish. Even the tourist info site in Matamata is Hobbit themed.


At the entrance of the Set.


Outside of every Hobbit Hole are decorations that make them look lived in.


Even the windows have knickknacks in them.


Details like this were probably invisible in the actual film, but they are there.


Groundskeepers are constantly grooming everything.


In the next photo, you can see this little “Dormer” sticking out of the side of the hill


Of course, every Hobbit hole has a chimney, even though they aren’t hooked up to anything inside


The Hobbit holes only go back a few feet to a retaining wall. All interior scenes were done in studio sets.


They keep the gardens all active.


Even the Scarecrows are there.


All around are baskets of fruits and veggies that look like they have just been harvested by a Hobbit.


Another nice little Hobbit hole.


Someone is selling some Honey.


Anywhere you look, it seems like you are in the middle of the Shire.


These Hobbit holes were never used in the films, they were constructed and completely decorated just in case a camera angle caught them in the background.


This is still a 1200 acre working farm even though there’s a movie set in the middle.


Someone selling baked goods.


This is Bag End, the home of Bilbo Baggins. That tree up on the hill is completely artificial. They had to construct it for The Hobbit out of tubular steel, polyurethane foam and attach hand painted artificial leaves. It was only in a scene for about 4 seconds.


Everything is real except the pumpkin.


Bilbo’s mail box.


The sign on Bilbo’s gate (in Lord of the Rings)


A Hobbiton Streetlight.


Another nice Hobbit hole.


This is the field where the birthday party for Bilbo was held.


This is Sam and Rosie’s house.


A view of the Shire.


On the dock at the lake. Someone’s third breakfast, or lunch, or onesies, who can tell with Hobbits.


Inside the Green Dragon Inn.


The fireplace at the Green Dragon Inn.


Streetlight outside the Green Dragon Inn.


Little bird (real) on a lamp outside the Green Dragon Inn.


Another view of the Shire.


After my Hobbiton tour, I decided to use the good weather for a short trip to Wairere Falls. This is the tallest waterfall on the North Island. It’s a 45 minute uphill hike to get to the viewpoint.I was planning on flying there if possible, so I also lugged the DJI Inspire all the way up. When I got to the viewing platform, I powered up the Inspire to see if I could get enough GPS satellites to work. The canyon is very narrow and deep. I could only see 5 Sats so I could not get a good GPS lock. Since my Inspire wants to drift left and back when it is not in GPS mode, this spot was pretty risky for me. One of these days, I have to calibrate my trims so that I can fly easier without GPS.


Wairere Falls, the highest on the North Island.


To Fly the Inspire here I would have to take off from the viewing platform, fly out through the hole in the foliage of the surrounding trees and then I would be free to fly up the falls. I would have attempted this if I had GPS, but I decided that without GPS, it was too risky. Too bad, it would have been a cool place to fly (plus I lugged it uphill for an hour to get there).