Hobbiton Tours is a public tour located in Matamata, New Zealand of the real hobbit village that was built for Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings films. The beautiful little village, which was taken over by curious sheep in 2010, went through a rebuild and was spruced up for the more recent Hobbit film series. Information and booking details for the Hobbiton movie set tours are available to view on their website. More photos of the magical place are available to view on Facebook.
When Peter Jackson spotted the Alexander Farm during an aerial search of the North Island for the best possible locations to film The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, he immediately thought it was perfect for Hobbiton. Nevertheless, a lot of work was still needed to be completed before it was up to the director’s high standards.
Site construction started in March 1999 and filming commenced in December that year, continuing for three months.
The set was rebuilt in 2011 for the feature films ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’, ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’, and ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’. It is now a permanent attraction complete with hobbit holes, gardens, bridge, Mill and The Green Dragon Inn.
photo by Trey Ratcliff of Stuck In Customs
via TwistedSifter