Hobbiton

Friday, June 8, 2012

Matamata and Hobbiton

Easy day of driving.  We left Auckland around 10:30 a.m. after fueling up.  I was very pleased with myself to have found light Pepsi instead of Coke.  Kay at Kauri Coast Holiday Park told us to look for the iSites, they’re tourist information and pickup sites for many of the tours.  So Jim set the GPS for the Matamata iSite so we could book our tour to Hobbiton, the set of the Hobbit village in the Lord of the Rings (LoR) movies.

We’ve seen a LOT of dairy farms and dairy processing plants along the way.  Our handy dandy little tourist radio alerted us to a cheese factory and cafe.  Since it was lunchtime, we couldn’t resist. We sat in the sunshine on their patio eating anti pasta with three locally produced cheeses.  Blue Cheese and Brie aren’t either of our favorites, but it was fun to try something different for a change.  We opted for dessert and had the most delicious cheesecake in the world.  It was softer that the cheesecake we usually get, but creamy and rich.  It was served with strawberry sauce and crème fleche….we savored every bite! Silly us, we ordered coffee to go with our lunch.  It was instant, but mine was a little tastier with the addition of milk and caramel syrup.  Of course everything is better with caramel! Still sore from his fall, Jim enjoyed letting the sunshine beat on his neck.  I’d say the temp was around 57 degrees F -- perfect!

Once in Matamata we easily booked our 2:30 p.m. tour to the Hobbiton set.  The bus picked us up at 3:00 and we drove about 15 minutes out of town past several horse farms.  At the office we picked up a second guide and drove into the location.  The scenery as we approached the location was long, rolling green hills with hearty milk cows, but increasingly dotted with sheep as we got closer.  The closer we got to the set, the more we saw deep little green valleys with rogue pines growing a hundred feet in the air.  The set was darling.  Tiny little Hobbit holes are built into the side of the mountain.  They look a bit like English cottages growing into the hillside.  Beautiful little gardens, flowers, rogue pins and ponds were everywhere.  Uncle Ben the tour guide told us that the pines are over 100 years old.  They’re hearty trees with long, sweeping arms—great for swings and picnicking.  They feel like wise centurions guarding this quiet valley. I’m not a fan of the movies, but seeing the set was fun and I could tell Jim was really enjoying himself.  On the drive in, the guide asked how many had seen the LoR movies, and then he asked how many had not seen the movies.  I was the only one to raise my hand. 

Facts he shared about the set:

·      Peter Jackson and the movie producers rented the neighboring farm for three months.  The cost was a three-month, all expenses paid vacation to anywhere in NZ for the owners.

·      NZ military built the road into the set.  When neighbors called the Alexander family to ask what was going on, they told their concerned neighbors it was a military exercise.

·      The location was picked because of the large oak tree, known in the movie as the party tree, near a pond.  But the general area of rolling hills and deep green valleys fit Tolkien’s description of the area.

·      The location remains a working sheep farm owned by the Alexander Family.  They own the set tours and have been smart about how they develop it as a tourist attraction.  The movie company was going to tear the seat down; the Alexander family made keeping it a condition of using the property.

·      Only 18 extras were chosen from the Matamata area.  They call themselves the chosen few.  800 people from all over auditioned.  The youngest Matamatan was 4 years old, the oldest 85.  They had to be less than five feet tall, have chubby cheeks and a bubbly personality.  Their contract included a nondisclosure clause for three years; they couldn’t tell their friends and families in the area that they had been chosen for the movie.

Matamata is considered a medium size community (felt about the size of Lee’s Summit or Payson).  The homes are a little more affluent and horse farms are becoming more popular and are popping up everywhere. 

We stayed the night at Opal Springs Holiday Park.  In this volcanic zone, there are many hot springs and this campground takes advantage of several hot pools.  We opted for doing laundry instead of soaking.  Laundry is expensive at $4/load to wash and the same to dry. This little campground felt a little like Far Westa—pleasant but run down around the edges. 

Random Thoughts:

·      This country is lovely, but the north is more dramatic.  We’re told that even the northland is nothing compared to the south island.

·      European tourists…let’s just say the young ones that are traveling on a dime are not the most pleasant to sit by on a tour bus.  However, they’re very friendly!

·      Eating out is expensive! Lunch at the Kaimai dairy was our second lunch out.  We’ve enjoyed many home-cooked meals in the trailer.  However, eating in has been great for Jim’s blood sugar.  One can stew, anyone?

Tomorrow Rotorua!