Hobbiton Movie Set

Today is an early start because we’re booked in to go on a tour of Hobbiton Movie Set at 09:20, and it’s a 45-60 minute drive away.

Actually, we probably didn’t really need to set off as early as we did as the journey goes very smoothly (despite missing a turning and a bit of confusion at the car park…). However, arriving ahead of our pre-booked tour (many thanks to Mich for organising) does give us a bit of time to get a hot coffee and fresh pastry at the onsite cafe first.

This is another activity that Mich and myself have done before on previous visits to New Zealand, but I’m excited to share it with Ems, Nick and the kids. While waiting in the queue for the bus to the movie set I found out that Ems and Nick have’t actually seen all of the films, and obviously the kids haven’t either! I don’t think that really matters though as the attraction is entertaining enough without having to know too much about the books / films.

The Hobbiton Movie Set is a guided tour and you travel around the set as a group. Our guide did a great job of explaining the history of the set, pointing out parts that you can identify from the films, and highlighting the level of detail and effort that goes into creating the virtual Hobbiton.

Although I’ve been previously in 2019 the set looks even more impressive than I remembered and there are new activities to keep you entertained, such as the lifesize Hobbit home that you can go inside and play around in. I won’t give away too much about this part, as it’s good to have a few surprises, but it’s incredibly detailed and gives you a great idea of what it might be to live like a Hobbit.

The tour ends with a stop at the Green Dragon, and of course a visit to the gift shop back at the visitor centre. When we returned it was getting very busy and quite competitive to try to get a table. Luckily Dad and Jo had saved us a spot (although Jo had to fend off another guest!) while we were on the tour so we could all tuck in to our sandwiches before heading back to Hamilton.

When we got back to Hamilton I was informed that I could use Jo’s car to drive into Hamilton CBD if I wanted. I have to admit I was a bit nervous driving her car. Even though New Zealand drive on the left, I’ve actually not driven that much back home in the UK, and my most recent driving experience was in Iceland.

Dad gave me a quick crash course (not literally), during which I found out that a) the brakes on the car are really sensitive and b) the windscreen wiper and indicator controls are on the opposite side of the steering column on her car. Other than that, the roads in New Zealand are pretty wide and easy to navigate, and the traffic around Hamilton isn’t too bad so I felt comfortable pretty quickly.

I drove into Hamilton CBD with Nick so we could have a bit of a look around. I’d previously been into the city with Dad and Jo but not really been had a proper look around, so we decided to go to the Waikato Museum.

It was good to spend a bit of time with Nick. We had a good catch-up while we looked around the museum, which has a lot of fascinating local history, art and culture. We checked out the Riff Raff statue, although neither of us are particularly interested in Richard O’Brien or Rocky Horror. We then had a drink in a local pub before we headed back to the accomodation, where the rest of the group had been busy preparing for the upcoming festival.

Painted gnomes, a treasure box, and lots of signs had been created. They had all clearly had a productive afternoon. I had no idea what it all meant but I was sure Jo was cooking up a plan…