Day 12 – Fellowship of the Ring

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Today we move on from Rotorua and make our way towards Matamata for another bucket list experience. But first up, we’ve booked tickets to the Wai-o-tapu Geothermal Wonderland. In Maori, Wai = Water, Tapu = Sacred, this place is very special. This park gives guests an opportunity to explore an expansive and varied volcanic area, showing the many different landscapes produced by geothermal activity, as well as experiencing a geyser going off. 

The Wonderland has a 10.15 showing of the geyser everyday, which is where we headed first. This geyser was originally discovered by prisoners from a nearby prison camp who were tasked with clearing the area of underbrush so they could plant pines. While they were working they discovered a hot pool, and because they didn’t have access to warm water at the camp, they thought this would be the perfect area to bathe and wash clothing. One day while they were doing just that, one of the prisoners unknowingly dropped soap into the entrance of the hot spring, which created a reaction, built pressure and caused the spring to erupt into a huge geyser. Every day after that, they would drop soap into the water to locate the entrance, setting off the eruption so they would know where to avoid to wash safely. The Lady Knox Geyser is a natural geyser that erupts every 24-48 hours naturally, but to share the phenomenon with their guests, the Wonderland staff replicate this story of discovery by adding soap to the entrance every day at 10.15. 

After the show, we headed back to the main park to explore the different pools and springs. It was fascinating seeing the result of the different combinations of gases and minerals making so many different colours. The view was ever changing, and constantly impressive. Don’t get me wrong, the place isn’t always pretty, but it’s pretty impressive. And it stinks, don’t go thinking you’ll escape the sulphur, but go in knowing it’ll smell and you’ll feel nothing but awe for the wonders of nature. 

My favourite area of the park had to be the Champaign Pool. In the centre of the park is a crater 65m wide, 67m deep, full to the top with 74°C water and a mixture of gold, silver, mercury and arsenic, which creates an incredible mix of orange, green and yellows. Because of its size and heat, there is a wall of steam obscuring your view, unless you wait for the wind to clear it, giving you a peak! It was such a cool sight to see. 

Once we had our fill of geology, we started our adventure towards Matamata. We made our way through Rotorua once again (we didn’t really plan the most optimal order for activities) passing through Fitzgerald Glade, which has quickly become a favourite stretch of road for us. On one side of the corridor of forest is a bright green cafe that we’ve been meaning to try, so we stopped off for a pie and ate in the conservatory of the converted house, with chickens outside and sun shining through the windows. It was a lovely pit stop! 

We continued to Matamata, which is the most adorable little country town, absolutely tiny. It’s so picturesque, and has such a homely feel to it that pulling up to or accommodations and checking in felt like a dream! It’s out best accommodation yet. 

We have come to Matamata for a specific reason. This is the town where director Peter Jackson scouted land, later built sets for, and filmed part of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies! We have a cool experience booked for this evening where we get to explore Hobbiton and then feast like a Hobbit! But before we headed off on our adventure, we rested briefly, then we headed into town to see a few known sights. First was a “Welcome to Hobbiton” sign in the middle of town. And then onto the cutest themed info centre that looks like a tavern. 

\ (+-+) /   This part is from Drew’s perspective

From here we went back to the motel for about 30 minutes before packing up and heading off to the Hobbiton Set Tour. We were really lucky that it was only 15 minutes away from where we were staying, so a quick dash past once again the beautifully manicured hedges and property lines and we were at the base where they launch the tours from. Check-in was done by a very bubbly British woman named Emma who was one of the two hosts for the experience. Paul was also there behind the scenes getting things prepared. We took the opportunity to have a look through the gift shop, decided there was not a heap there for us (although we almost left with a “no admittance except on party business” sign but couldn’t think of somewhere to put it up at home) and waited to get on the tour bus. Peter Jackson and the Alexander family decided after the Hobbit trilogy of movies that Hobbiton needed to be a permanent set and run dedicated tours. The original set from the Lord of the Rings movies were made from untreated wood and polystyrene so after filming, they didn’t hold up very well. With the completion of the Hobbit movies they designed the set to last – that way people could have this kind of experience. 

All 44 of us having the dinner banquet experience jumped onto the bus and away we went. A very short 10 minutes drive through the Alexander farm and we were at the cusp of the Hobbiton set. As you walk through the entrance you are lead towards the Lower Shire, the base of the hill essentially. You can see the whole of the Shire from here, right up to Bilbo and Frodo’s house at the top of the hill. Each house was designed by a special effects company called Weta. The detail that has been included in each house is astounding. You could literally tell all about the lives of the hobbits from details as small as the design of the letterbox, to as large as pies and pastries cooking on the stove by the window. Each of these homes were no deeper than about 1 metre, just enough to have space to really make the village come to life. Most houses were about 60% human sized, with some more important ones about 80% to scale and then the facade of Bilbo’s house being 100% to scale. Paul explained a bit about how they used forced perspective when filming the movies, gave a few examples and then we slowly walked out way to the top of the Shire. The views were spectacular. It was literally rolling hills of green, littered with clothes lines, huts and beautifully tended gardens. Dani took so many photos!

Probably the highlight of the tour, even greater than the banquet I have yet to touch on, was the walk in hobbit holes. Opened in December of 2023 as a result of so many people who were disappointed that they could come here and not get to view an actual hobbit home, the original set designers were flown in, the original script writers were rehired and these two parallel homes were designed. The only difference between each house was one had a pet dog and the other had a pet cat. This was a very hands-on experience – we were encouraged to search and explore and learn what we could about this family. The home consisted of a huge lounge room, a kids room with bunk beds and a writing desk, the master bedroom, a big brass bathtub in a beautifully designed bathroom, enormous pantry and kitchen area and a little laundry out the back. They even went as far as designing a toilet with torn up books as paper. You could sit by the fire and pick up a pair of knitting needles, you could play with the toys in the kids rooms and you could even lay in the beds if you really were so inclined. Now you might be thinking about what a regular house looks like when you imagine this, but you would very much be mistaken. Imagine what I described, think about it if it was a small little cottage in a remote village in the British Isles somewhere, and then multiply that by 10 – it very much fits the description of Hobbitcore. Everything was at about 85% scale, so just large enough to enjoy but also small enough to make you feel like a giant. Woven baskets, fresh pies and pastries, an open fireplace, grand 4-post beds, curtains held in place with giant brass knobs, mismatched ceramic tea cups and kettles. It was all there and more. I hope the photographs do justice to just how surreal and how much this was a vibe. 

After spending all of this time hiking the Shire, our banquet at the Green Dragon Inn awaited us. We headed to the inn, were supplied with either a stout, amber ale, cider or ginger beer brewed specifically for Hobbiton, and had a chance to walk around before the grand reveal.

Curtains were drawn and what waited behind them looked like something from a fantasy story (quite fitting actually). We sat down at our table and were treated to roast chicken, lamb shanks, salmon, sausage, beef stew, mashed and roasted potatoes, breads and salads. It looked fake, like someone has spent time and money to make a grand set design for this purpose. But it wasn’t and we immediately tucked in. It was exactly what you hoped a banquet at the Green Dragon Inn would look and taste like.

After some polite casual conversations with the Sydney Man and his German partner and the Canadian couple as we feasted, our bellies were full and everyone was content. That was until they said they needed to clear up for dessert and so we went to view the Shire at night, hobbit holes lit up making what was already a beautiful scene feel even more like it was home. The whole time you walked around the set, it felt so comfortable and comforting. We returned for dessert, had a meaningful conversation about the difference between burgers, meatballs and rissoles, and sat comatose for just long enough to let the sugar perk us back up before it was time to trek through the set for our lantern-light tour. This just added to the magic of the experience. The final stop was the party grounds, where as a group we all came together, learned a little more about the history of the set, the people who worked there and the stories that came from filming both the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit trilogies. A few minutes after that we were back on the bus, making our way back to base camp to start the short trip back to our accommodation. 

What will really stand out to me for a long time was just the level of detail that the set designers went to in order to make a fantasy setting feel so real and so believable. The whole time you could have sworn this was a real working village, with denizens who worked there and had fully fleshed out lives. Then you get the additional detail of the new walk in hobbit hole experience and I absolutely would have stayed there forever and lived my life happy and content, working the land and earning enough to have a ginger beer at the inn before heading home for an amazing supper. I feel like you don’t even need to have any knowledge of Middle Earth to appreciate this experience and when we eventually come back to NZ in the future, if we are on the North Island I will 100% be doing this experience again.