Hobbiton

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit 

I booked a tour with Auckland Scenic Tours (through Expedia) to see Hobbiton and the Waitomo Caves. After heading out of the city, we caught the sunrise over the Hauraki Plains.

 In 1998, director Peter Jackson was scouting for locations to film the Lord of the Rings. He saw this tree from a helicopter and thought it would be the perfect spot for Bilbo Baggins to give a speech at his eleventy-first birthday party. Upon closer examination, he decided that the area surrounding the tree, part of a working cattle and sheep farm, would be the perfect backdrop for the Shire. 

The structures for Lord of the Rings were intended to be temporary and fell into disrepair after filming was complete. Ten years later when The Hobbit was to be filmed, the farm's owner made a deal with the director to erect more permanent structures and open Hobbiton to the public. 

Over 400,000 people visit the set every year and 40% of them have never seen the movies or read the books. The attention to detail is astounding. The gardens on the grounds are real, laundry hangs on clotheslines, smoke rises from chimneys, and props remain in front of the Hobbit holes. 

The doors in front of the Hobbit holes used forced perspective to make Hobbits look smaller and Gandalf appear taller. The maximum allowable height for a Hobbit was 5'4" and doorways were scaled at 90% to be the right size. 

To make Gandalf appear so much taller, he stood in front of doors scaled to 60%

Of course, the highlight of Hobbiton is Bag's End, the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

The tour ends with drinks at The Green Dragon.

  The attraction of the Waitomo Caves are the thousands of glow worms that light up the cave ceiling. No photos are allowed in the caves, but each visitor is photographed in front of a green screen and the images may be purchased at the end of the tour. Of course, I purchased mine.