Travel Diary Entry 4: NEW ZEALAND 22/04/2025
- Caroline Candeloro
- Apr 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 30
My fourth day in New Zealand was a dream come true.
Day 4 was dedicated to exploring Hobbiton, an iconic movie set and one of New Zealand's most famous attractions.
Hobbiton is the movie set from the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. This movie set is why I wanted to visit the North Island over the South Island of New Zealand. This attraction is a dream for LOTR fans, such as myself.
Hobbiton is the little village where 'Hobbits' (fictional characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's novels) live in the books and movies. Hobbits are small fictional creatures that love food, beer, and their quiet, green home that they call The Shire.
The Hobbiton set was built on the Alexander Family Farm, a 1,250-acre sheep and beef farm near Matamata.
The film's director, Peter Jackson, spotted the beautiful green valley farm in a helicopter while searching for the filming location. The tour guide told us that once Peter Jackson and his location scouts discovered the isolated farm, they knew immediately that this was the perfect location for The Shire. Jackson and his team walked directly to the Alexanders' home and knocked on their door to ask to build his set on his farm; little did the Alexanders know that one knock would change the rest of their lives.
Construction on the movie set began in 1999 for The Lord of the Rings trilogy when 37 Hobbit holes were dug and constructed. After filming was wrapped, most of the set was taken down, but it was rebuilt again in 2011 when The Hobbit series began filming.
After filming wrapped on The Hobbit series, the Alexander family farm decided to run a fully guided movie set tour, now one of New Zealand's most popular attractions.
Crossing Hobbiton off my bucket list was such a fulfilling moment. Little Caro — the girl with a Middle-Earth map hanging in her bedroom — was fully kicking her feet the entire time. I spent two hours completely nerding out, grinning ear to ear and laughing at how everything was somehow even funnier Hobbit-sized. I couldn't stop smiling because I finally saw a world I'd imagined for so long.
I must admit, though, that it was a little humbling not to duck my head in a hobbit home (all hobbits are short haha).
The experience was seriously better than I expected. I could not believe how real everything was. It was exactly the same as the movies. There was so much detail in this movie set, which was so impressive. I was also so happy that the weather cooperated and decided to show a little sun. The cyclone weather finally passed (thank God), and I could not have been more grateful that I got a nice, sunny day for Hobbiton.
The whole tour took approximately two and a half hours. We walked throughout the entire set, learned some cool things about the filming techniques, took pictures inside and outside the Hobbit Homes, and ended at the Green Dragon (the famous Hobbit pub from the movies), where we enjoyed some cider.
The entire experience was so heartwarming. Of course, as seen below, I had to grab a souvenir, a Gandalf T-shirt.
In the end, New Zealand offered me another unforgettable experience. Hobbiton was my favourite part of my trip, as it was a full-circle moment being there.
That was basically all I did on Day 4 in New Zealand. After Hobbiton, we returned to the road and continued driving to our next destination, Taupo. In Taupo, I completed one of New Zealand's most scenic (and dangerous) hikes; the experience was unbelievable, even though I was hurting after it.
More about the scary Tongariro Alpine Crossing will be discussed in Day 5's blog post!
AHHHHHHHHHH!
Cool read.