A jaunt to the Shire.

An Auckland Adventure:
August 1 – Friday

Friday morning dawned soggy and early – 5 a.m. to be exact. We had to catch the 6:47 Airport Flyer from Courtenay Place in order to catch our 8 a.m. flight out of Wellington. All this went off without a hitch, and Melinda, Andrea, Jamie and I met up with Denise, Jen, Josh and Una at the airport. We all made it onto the same flight, and so our Auckland adventure began.

The skies cleared the further north we flew, until there was nothing but a rolling sea of green beneath the wings. The only thing I could think about as we descended through the clouds to be greeted by so much greenery was a quote from Gandalf. It’s when he’s describing Valinor to Pippin in Return of the King. He says: “The grey curtain of this world pulls back to reveal a far, green country.” At 36,000 feet above New Zealand, I felt as though I was gazing down on that very green country.

Upon arrival in Auckland, we disembarked the plane via a set of stairs, and walked into the airport to be met by Vic James, owner and operator of Red Carpet Tours. He was there to pick up me, Denise, Jen, Josh, Una and Melinda and ferry us down to Matamata and the farm where the Hobbiton scenes were shot for Lord of the Rings. Jamie and Andrea, meanwhile, were going to explore Auckland.

The six of us Ringers piled into Vic’s silver Mercedes Sprinter, and met two Canadian girls who would be joining us on our hobbity adventure. The 2-hour drive down to Matamata was peppered with fast-moving showers, which, coupled with the bright sun, produced too many rainbows to keep track of, including a huge full one that stretched all the way across the highway in front of us.

The further south we went, the land opened up into rolling pastures, dotted with woolly sheep. The grass was an unreal shade of green, and nobody could stop taking photos.

During our ride, Vic entertained us with general New Zealand information, info. about Red Carpet Tours and their involvement with the Hobbiton site, as well as little tidbits about certain actors and people involved in the films. He passed around pictures and brochures for us to look at, and the time passed quickly.

Red Carpet Tours (and Vic, more specifically) is nearly single-handedly responsible for the Hobbiton site being preserved for tourists today. Back after filming for the trilogy had ended, New Line had told the Alexanders that all the hobbit holes and remnants of production had to be destroyed. A bulldozer took out all the lower hobbit holes, but was unable to get to the ones on the hill due to an unusually wet winter. The company said they’d come back in the summer to finish the job, but forgot about it.

Meanwhile, Vic and his wife Raewyn were looking into starting up a company to offer Lord of the Rings-themed tours of New Zealand. But they knew they needed someone who knew the story like the back of their hand (Vic admitted that, at that point, he was still trying to finish the books). They stumbled upon Erica Challis, writer/editor for TheOneRing.net, after reading about her being charged with trespassing on a set. Back then, New Line and The One Ring didn’t get along. (Though, now they’ve got their own office inside Weta Workshop. Go figure.) Vic said he knew that’s who they needed to talk to.

Erica thought Vic and Raewyn’s idea was great, and suggested people for them to talk to about access to filming locations. The first spot on her list was the Alexander farm in Matamata, because she thought that might be one of the better spots for fans to recognize without any set elements.

Vic called them up, and drove down the next week to meet with them. When he arrived, none of the farmers were around, so he took a walk down to the area where The Shire had been. Imagine his surprise when he rounded the corner not only to see the Party Tree, but 17 in-tact hobbit holes! He immediately called Erica, and they went to talk to the farmers. They had missed the demolition of the rest of the hobbit holes by less than 24 hours.

Red Carpet Tours is now the only tour company permitted to go onto the farm without a farm guide. All others who want to visit the Shire have to catch a farm shuttle from the Matamata visitor’s center, and book it through the farm itself. Vic also revealed that, since the Alexander farm will be used again for the upcoming Hobbit and prequel films, Red Carpet Tours will be allowed access to the site while the set is being rebuilt. What I wouldn’t give to come back during that!

After getting the Hobbiton history, Vic told us a few other tidbits he’s picked up along the way:

The Hobbiton set was discovered by a location scout flying over Matamata in a helicopter. Fran Walsh had suggested they scout the area, because she remembering going on holiday in that region with her family when she was younger. At the time, the scout was looking for a lake with a tree by it for the party scene (they had booked another farm for the hobbit holes). He landed the helicopter on the farm, and went up to the Alexanders’ house. He knocked on the door, and told them he wanted to talk about making a movie on their land. Mr. Alexander told them to come back later, as they were watching rugby match. Imagine! The scout went looking down by the lake, and discovered the hills right next to it on which hobbit holes could easily be built. The rest, as they say, is history.

Vic talked quite a bit about Brett Beattie, the man who played Gimli in the film. This may confuse those of you who associate Gimli with John Rhys-Davies. It is true that John Rhys-Davies was the face and voice of Gimli. But he was on set and in costume for less than 2 months during filming, while Brett Beattie, his double, was on set for well over 200 days. Which is probably why Beattie was invited to get the infamous Fellowship tattoo, and John Rhys-Davies was not.

For those Viggo fans reading, Vic also revealed Viggo’s favorite New Zealand wine. It’s a pino noir made by Mt. Difficulty Winery of Queenstown. Vic said he told a woman on one of Red Carpet’s tours this, and she bought a bottle of it to take home. She then went to a signing, and gave the bottle to Viggo, who was very impressed that she knew his favorite wine and had brought it to him all the way from New Zealand. Vic said he then received an e-mail from the woman, requesting a whole case of the wine to be shipped to her, so that she could present Viggo with one every time she saw him.

But enough stories. Back to Hobbiton!

By the time we arrived in Matamata, we had a blue sky overhead and bright sunshine. Vic stopped just outside the farm’s limits to point out the name of the road (Buckland Lane – a total coincidence) and to pop in a CD. As we made our way up the winding drive, strains of Howard Shore’s music accompanied our journey. The hobbit theme crescendoed as we drove through lush green hills dotted with sheep, and I think it’s safe to say we were all holding back tears.

We stopped for a toilet break at the Shire’s Rest – a shop and café on the farm. The toilets are located in a building shaped like a hobbit hole, and the inside is themed as well, all the way down to doorknobs in the middle of wooden doors.

Then it was off to the set. Alec, an elderly farm guide, hopped in the van and basically repeated everything about Hobbiton that Vic had already told us. He didn’t know about Vic’s personal involvement in it, and I got the feeling Vic preferred it that way. We had to stop to be let through a few gates along the way, and Alec pointed out the roads built for filming, as well as the spots where various trailers, catering tents, animal paddocks and the like were located.

We eventually found ourselves atop a high hill, being blasted by a chilly wind as it pushed scuttling clouds across the sky. Down below we could see the Party Tree and lake in the distance. It was then that Josh removed his shoes and continued the rest of the day barefoot, and everyone else realized just exactly we were.

Getting down to the set was made difficult by a downed tree blocking the road. We had to back up and go around an alternate way. We ended up hiking down from behind Bag End. As we rounded the corner, there it was – Bilbo’s abode perched on the hill towering above us. The cameras didn’t stop from then on.

Alec gave us a proper tour, explaining who lived in which hobbit hole, where certain Hobbiton buildings and gardens had stood, and even where Gandalf let off his fireworks for the hobbit children at the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring. Alec said the farm is going to ask New Line for permission to rebuild one hobbit hole – the one Sam and Rosie live in that is seen at the very end of Return of the King.

Even though I’d been there once before, it was like being there for the very first time all over again.

The wind brought with it a brief storm, which only succeeded in making everything more beautiful after it passed. The whole farm was bathed in an after-rain sheen once the sun came back out.

We walked all around the set, and even danced on the Party Field – something I didn’t do last time, but had a lot of fun doing this time. Jen said more than once that her face hurt from smiling so much. I think it would be impossible to be unhappy in such a beautiful and magical place. Even Vic said he never tires of coming, even when he makes four or five trips in one week.

We ended our tour up at Bag End, by going inside Bilbo’s home. Bag End is the only hole you can properly go inside. Last time I was in there, it was dusty and dark. But it seems that with a new face on Bag End, a new inside was also in order. There are now lights and a few photos hanging on the walls. But the view out of Bag End’s windows and doors is still the same – and still breathtaking. There have been 14 marriage proposals at Hobbiton, with a majority of them being in this very spot.

We took pictures in and out of Bag End, as well as inside the window where Sam was pulled through by Gandalf in Fellowship. With the renovation, visitors can now climb inside this particular window for photos. Which we took advantage of.

With a few last photos and a satisfied feeling, we boarded the van once more to return to the Shire’s Rest for lunch. We timed it perfectly: As we drove back through the three farm gates, the rain clouds blew in, opening up just as we got inside.

Lunch consisted of sandwiches, savories, fresh fruit, and the most delicious muffins I have ever tasted. Food never tasted so good as it did in the Shire.

After a leisurely lunch and some light shopping in the shop, it was back to Auckland. Most of us dozed off on the drive back, but I don’t think Vic minded driving in silence.
When we got back to Auckland, Vic dropped us all off at our various hostels and hotels, which saved us a bus or taxi fare and was greatly appreciated. Una, Melinda, Jamie, Andrea and myself all stayed together at Lantana Lodge International Backpackers, a little hostel outside of the city in the suburb of Parnell. We met Jamie and Andrea there, and took half an hour to unwind before heading back out.

Getting downtown wasn’t as difficult as it seemed it would be, though the two massive, steep hills we had to climb to get to a bus station were killer. We discovered that if we used The Link buses, fares anywhere in town were only $1.60. So we took a bus down to Queen Street, where we picked up our All Blacks tickets for Saturday night. Then we headed over to Sky City.

Our plan was to eat dinner in the Sky Tower, figuring the view from the top would be pretty at night. But when we went to try and get a table at Orbit, the revolving restaurant, they were completely booked. So we made a reservation for brunch the next day instead, and found a cheap Chinese place instead.

We really wanted to find a karaoke club, but it seems they’re quite difficult to come by over here, especially when you really want one. We stopped into the Globe, a backpackers bar, but didn’t stay very long. In search of more clubs, we headed down to the waterfront. We found heaps of bars and clubs that looked fun, but we, in our jeans and sneakers, didn’t have a prayer of getting into any of them. So, after walking around a bit more, we headed back to our hostel and called it an early night.

To see a complete album of pictures both from the Weta presentation and my trip to Hobbiton, go to my Facebook album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031825&l=3a74a&id=36002321
It's a public album, so it should be viewable by all.