Hobbiton: an Expected Journey

Unwashed due to our stay at the DOC campsite, we returned to Tauranga where we ate a breakfast of French toast alongside a mango and blackberry smoothie. You can find these delectable specimens at Cafe 88 in Mount Maunganui. We opted to break our fast in the courtyard, which was strung up with fairy lights.

We spent the day reading under the shade of a tree by Papamoa beach, only breaking from our repose to eat some Monte Gelato. It was okay, but a bit of a disappointing gelato experiecne after the magic that is Charlie's Gelato in Matakana. The blood orange gelato was not up to scratch, tasting artificial, but the vanilla was quite nice, and the lemon sorbet was great. (When I combined the lemon and blood orange flavours, it reminded me exactly of Tip Top popsicle slushies, which is not what an artisinal gelato should taste like.)

That afternoon we set out for our journey to Matamata, where we would undertake a night tour of Hobbiton with two of Yannick's friends, Shinji and Esmé. (Warning: there are a lot of photos to come, I just couldn't cut down any more. Apologies in advance.)

The tour started by taking the bus through a bit of farmland. The first glimpse of Hobbiton was 'Gandalf's Cutting', a little area with a few hobbit holes. 

The first thing that struck me was how detailed each of them were (and how small!).

You could tell that a lot of thought had been put into each one. Many of the hobbit holes had props outside that showed the professions of the hobbit who lived there: among them a painter, a fisherman, and a cheese maker.

This one was a beekeeper's house, and there was even a little stall with honey with an honesty box (bag) by it. Adorable.

It looks so real!

With the sacks of flour outside, this one was a baker's house. That little stall on the left side had loaves of bread that looked so good you wanted to reach out and break a bit off for yourself.

We rounded a corner and saw Bag End. I can just imagine Bilbo scurrying out of that door to go on an adventure. And look, a rare photo of the both of us together! I can't remember the last time we had one of those. I'd say "That's one for the scrapbook" but it seems that this blog is now our scrapbook.

The tree that sits atop Bag End is made from steel and silicone, with individual artificial leaves wired on. It was originally a real tree that had been cut down in Matamata for the filming of the Lord of the Rings, but for the Hobbit they wanted something more permanent.

A beautiful gardener's home. They have several real gardeners on staff to keep everything looking immaculate.

The Party Tree, with a view of the Green Dragon pub and other assorted buildings on the other side of the lake.

The farm's resident cat, Pickles, followed the tour group for much of the way and at one point excitedly attacked a tuft of grass.

Okay, okay, I know it's not attached to a pony or anything and we're obviously not going anywhere on that thing, but isn't it cool! It's a big barrel of ale (not really though, shhh).

As part of the night tour, we got to have a hobbity feast for dinner as well as a complimentary ale or cider. The tables were all laid out in a banquet style, and everyone helped themselves. There were whole roast chickens and pig trotters, as well as sausages (always a favourite of mine) in a tomatoey sauce, a pumpkin barley mash that was served in a pumpkin half, and the softest bread rolls I've ever had. I'm sure I missed trying something on the table because there was so much. I wanted to go back for seconds but I heard dessert was coming so refrained.

After dinner, we got to dress up in hobbit clothes! I got way too excited but isn't it cute! (We did have to wait for children to vacate the clothes - I have a feeling it was mostly for their benefit than for us 'adults'.)

Me as a hobbit barmaid. Flagon of ale, anyone?

The storehouse, with a plethora of salamis and dried herbs. That teacup is ruining the photo and it really bugs me.

For the walk back, we got to hold lanterns and see the hobbit holes lit up. The story goes the owners of the holes that had lights on outside were still at the pub, and the ones that didn't had already gone to bed.

Back in Gandalf's Cutting again, the guides held up lights to better illuminate people and took photos for everyone. I was really pleased that they didn't do as many tourist traps do and charge you for the photos they take - they just used your own camera and even took a couple of photos so you could choose.

I'm sure I talked Yannick's ear off that night recalling all the things I liked about the tour. I suppose I didn't have super high expectations when I went in but I was very impressed and it was one of the highlights of our whole trip.