After a number of years we returned to Middle Earth, aka New Zealand (Aotearoa)

This time we would be exploring areas on the North Island that were used for the making of the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit movies.

To read about other locations used for these movies on the South Island and our trip to Weta Caves in Wellington read here.

There are a trove of online resources available to find these locations but the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) has the best one (including gps coordinates).

Hobbiton : One Tree to Rule them all…

In 1998, one of Peter Jackson’s location scouts was flying around the North Island in a helicopter. His mission was to find the perfect spot to recreate the Shire- the home of Bilbo, Frodo and the rest of the Hobbits. Their search led them to Matamata and Alexander Farm – a 1,250 acre sheep farm. Rolling green hills and pastures and an enormous pine tree adjacent to a rising hill and next to a lake – just as described by Tolkien himself – they had found the Party Tree. This must be the place.

The original set for Hobbiton was torn down after production of the original trilogy movies but with the making of the The Hobbit movies in 2009 it was decided to rebuild the village and keep it as a permanent exhibition for everyone to enjoy.

I cannot begin to tell you how much movie magic has been bottled up in this small part of the world. One of the best days in my life.

The tour begins from the main office and car park located across the main road. As the trip was for my birthday some of our friends had bought us tickets and arranged a cake beforehand at the Shires Rest Cafe. There is a few food options here, a full cafe, a gift shop and, most importantly, the last toilets for about two hours.

We hopped onto our bus and drove the 1.5km road that was built by the New Zealand Army back in 1999 for the original set. While on the bus we watched an introduction video from Sir Peter Jackson. The most surprising thing is that the farm was still a working sheep farm.

We were dropped off next to the point where Gandalf’s arrival at the start of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) movie. A little further on is the spot where Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman) shouts “I’m going on an adventure in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). Beyond that the view widens to take in the whole of Hobbiton -a large hill with dozens of hobbit holes carved into them and all manner of small details to give each hole its own personality.

The first of these holes belonged to Old Proudfoot (played by Noel Appleby). He can be seen growling and then laughing as the children enjoy Gandalf’s firework display.

No Admittance (except on party business)

After discovering a number of the hobbit holes we stated to climb up to Bag End – the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. It also allowed us to take in the whole area as we looked down onto the Party field and Party Tree and the lake beyond. It was great having our three year old assistant with us to help take photographs and he was the perfect scale as well.

A quick look on the doorframe did not elucidate the dwarven rune tattoo that is left on it by Gandalf in The Hobbit. In the movie it is the Norse ‘Rune of Frey’ (as pictured here). In the addendum of the books it looks a little different. Either way it was not present.

After Bag End we climbed back down the hill and went to the site of Bilbo’s Farewell Birthday party in the field. It had a lot of party memorabilia and is used to this day to host events at the site.

Bag Shot Row

Only two months earlier, the management had opened a new exhibition. Life size working replicas of hobbit holes. You can walk through and discover them. They actually made two to help with crowd congestion and this was called Bag Shot Row. There is actually three hobbit holes, the one with the yellow door belongs to Samwise Gamgee and his family.

The level of detail was absolutely incredible. Furniture, utensils, pictures, family trees and hundreds of things to explore make this a fantastic experience. There are a half a dozen rooms to explore from the great lounge to a fully stocked pantry and kitchen.

Comes from the Green Dragon

After Bagshot Row we walked down past the Mill and over ‘that stone bridge’ across the Bywater River to arrive at the famous Green Dragon Inn and a refreshing drink of ale (or cider) straight from an authentic movie mug. It also has a fully functioning kitchen but we did not have much time to eat so we just enjoyed our drinks by the lake side.

What a great day! Here is some video footage of our tour!

Dwarves in a barrel

Located on the outskirts of Taupo are the Huka Falls. Thousands of litres of water is released upstream every day and it all flows down a narrow river creating a wild torrent of water. It was here that Peter Jackson filmed some of the barrel sequence from the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug. This is where Bilbo and the dwarves escape the elves of Mirkwood by throwing themselves into wine barrels and into the river. Additional footage was captured in the South Island at Pelorus Bridge which we drove over on our way to Able Tasman National Park on a previous trip.

…In the fire of Mount Doom

Mount Ngauruhoe – Mount Doom

Tongariro National Park is located in the centre of North Island – a couple of hours drive south of Lake Taupo on the well maintained State Highway 1. The drive itself, while not in the movies is well recommended. Tongariro is the oldest national park in New Zealand and contains three active volcanos as well as Ski Fields, numerous walks and trails and many Maori religious sites.

Mount Ngauruhoe was chosen to represent Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. We began by driving through the front gate and up past the entrance all the way up the mountain to the Whakapapa Ski Fields. They provided a couple of scenes of Sam, Frodo and Gollum. First of all we have the vast and seemingly impenetrable maze of crags that are the hills of Emyn Muil, then near Mead’s Wall – right next to the Sky Waka station provided the open shot of the Two Towers movie – with Sam and Frodo climbing up the rockface. Just next to the Wall itself is where Sam and Frodo first encounter the creature called Gollum.

It was a really nice sunny day when we visited but there is no mistaking the landscape and how it was used to create the environs around Mordor.

The area in front of the Wall and just above Happy Valley Ski School is where Isildur cut the Ring off of Sauron’s finger in the opening battle between the forces of Mordor and the Last Alliance of men and elves in The Fellowship of the Ring. In Winter you would not recognise it as the entire area is covered in thick snow.

The Gates of Mordor are located around the east side of Mount Ruapehu in the Turkino Ski Field while Turoa Ski area to the south-west was used later (or earlier?) as the Hidden Bay entrance to the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey.

Here is some footage of later scenes in the Return of the King filmed here – where Sam and Frodo are dressed as orcs in order to bypass the armies of Sauron and reach Mount Doom. The barren landscape of this region on full display.

Production HQ

At the bottom of the mountain next to the visitor centre is the Chateau Tongariro Hotel. Temporarily closed at the moment but back in 1999 it was used to host Peter Jackson and his cast and crew while they filmed in the region. It’s a large 1920s building with butterscotch brick and royal blue and has a swimming pool and indoor movie theatre – perfect for watching the dailies.