Hobbiton!

When thinking about exploring New Zealand, checking out the filming locations for Lord of the Rings is high on my list. I was in luck, as in my first day’s wanderings around Rotorua I found a storefront filled with LotR merchandise and offering tours of Hobbiton. A few days later, I was on my way. Because it was 8am on a grey and drizzling morning there were only four of us, all the better for a personal feel to the tour. Rotorua is an hour’s drive from Matamata, where the Alexander sheep farm contains the Hobbiton movie set, but the drive through the countryside was interesting in itself. Right on the edge of town is a park full of active steam vents, beyond that is a dormant volcano with billboards advertising all sorts of adventure sports, and beyond that it fades into endless rolling green hills spotted with sheep and cattle. We crossed over the Kaimai Range, and in the rain the tree-fern lined highway reminded me of the road up to Volcano.

We rolled into Shire’s Rest, the Hobbiton site, along the aptly named Buckland Road (the name actually precedes the filming). Our guide explained the history of the site, with the assistance of a video of Peter Jackson, about how the Alexander farm was spotted by air and fit all the hopes and dreams Jackson had of Hobbiton (minus the oak tree over Bag End); how they built twenty-odd hobbit holes for the LotR set; how they were delayed by a storm halfway through dismantling them upon completion; how even the remains of the set became a popular tourist destination; and how they rebuilt the set in full and permanently, adding a dozen more holes, for the filming of The Hobbit to make it the attraction it is today. We were led into Hobbiton through the same cut in the bank where Frodo jumps into Gandalf’s cart (and learned about forced perspective). The gardens in Hobbiton are planted with real vegetables, and the gardeners are allowed to take home the produce they harvest. Smoke curls out of many chimneys, from small woodchip stoves that smolder all day. Our guide explained to us that the hobbit holes were constructed to everything from 60% to 100% scale depending on whether they were meant to exaggerate the height of Gandalf walking by, or to make the Hobbits seem short. I got a picture in the doorway of the only hobbit hole they let us poke around inside of, but I made the 90% look more like a 60%. Most of the holes only appeared for a few seconds in the films, but each had little details to set it apart, from the laundry on lines to children’s toys in the yards. There even are holes built in the next little valley over that never show up in the movies, built to maintain the illusion if the camera panned up too far in a sweeping shot. That valley had tree-ferns and what appeared to be a Pandanus in it, vegetation I don’t remember seeing in the movies (I’ll have to watch them again to check).

Bag End is the crown jewel of Hobbiton, built at 100% scale and with a complete foyer to allow that shot of looking out through the round green door at the ‘sunset.’ The sunset was actually a sunrise, as Bag End faces East, the actors actually woke up really early and acted everything in reverse before the film was flipped to make the sun appear to sink. The iconic tree above Bag End was one of the few things not already perfect on site. Peter Jackson had an oak tree brought in and planted there for LotR. It was chopped down when filming was complete, and they were unable to find an identical tree for The Hobbit (supposedly fans would complain at the inaccuracy), so they built a replica from steel and foam, with thousands of hand-painted silk leaves, aged back 50 years to fit the timeline. Our guide said we could keep any fallen leaves as a souvenir, but I didn’t see one. The tour ended at the Green Dragon Inn with a complimentary hobbit-brewed beverage (I had the surprisingly good Frogmorton Ginger Beer and an Oatbarton Brew traditional English ale) and a hearty fire to warm up after the chilly English Shire weather.

Hobbiton was great, whimsical, and definitely worth a visit. I hope to see several more filming locations before I leave, albeit the geographical landscapes.

90% life size you say?

Sam Gamgee's house

An Unexpected Party

I suppose I have been interested in visiting New Zealand for quite a while. It drew me with the same things that would capture the attention of anyone - spectacular scenery from The Lord of the Rings, interesting accents, world-class Timbersports, fascinating and uniquely biodiverse ecosystems evolved in isolation over millions of years, passionate rugby, deep culture, fluffy sheep . . . I had the chance to make this dream a reality earlier this year, when Dr. Dean Meason (Dean the Kiwi), a former graduate student of my father’s, mentioned that the project he was working on at Scion (formerly New Zealand Forest Research Institute) was looking to hire a field and lab technician. This was an opportunity both to expand my experience working in another aspect of forest ecology research, and to explore this fascinating country I might not have a chance to visit again. Dean pointed out to me that I was eligible for New Zealand’s Working Holiday Visa Scheme, where as a young American I could easily be allowed to come to New Zealand and pick up temporary employment to cover the cost of traveling around the country for up to a year. Sure enough, when I filled out and submitted the application this Summer, my application fee was waved and my visa was approved in about three days. The plane tickets were a pretty penny, but soon I was set and committed to six months in Aotearoa, the Land of the Long White Cloud.

After a long flight, although New Zealand Air is much more luxurious than United (it gives you meals and seatback entertainment [including all of the Lord of the Rings movies]), I landed in Auckland. I had time before my connection, so I decided to walk the 650 meters over to the domestic terminal rather than wait for the shuttle. After following the green line for what seems like several kilometers and a doubling of my duffel’s weight, I came to another sign cheerfully informing me I had only 650 meters to go. What. Eventually I made it though, and I was surprised how small the domestic terminal in the airport of New Zealand’s largest city was. The plane down to Rotorua was small enough that I had to check my carry-on as well, and we walked across the tarmac and up a rolling staircase to board the plane. It was raining in Rotorua as we landed, but coming from Hilo I was unfazed. Taking a taxi into town gave me my first real taste of driving on the left, which I am still working to get used to.

Rotorua has a climate closest to San Francisco, but even that doesn’t quite fit. I arrived in Spring, there is still a chill in the air many days and I am glad that I have wool layers. Along with the tree-ferns and the pervasive smell of sulphur from geothermal activity it often reminds me of Volcano Village. The city itself is similar to Hilo, with a downtown district, about 10 minutes away from my house by bike, touching the shore of Lake Rotorua. I found five different bike shops in close proximity, and got a Giant Talon 4 for the duration of my stay here. There is an extensive trails network in the forest just a few blocks over, and plenty of more riding opportunities fairly close as well. Things are generally a bit more expensive, and I have not been able to find any size 15 trail-runners, but there are also some great little hole-in-the-wall bookshops. Definitely at times it feels far away and alien, but then I’ll see Starbucks, or hear Kiwi covers of ‘Our Song’ or ‘Shut Up and Dance’ over the store radio, and I am reminded that it really isn’t that foreign after all.

Stay tuned for further adventures as I start work, visit Hobbiton, go mountain biking, and countless more explorations of Kiwiland. Thanks for coming along; shoot me a blitz, I’d love to hear from you!

Aloha Hawai'i, Kia Ora Aotearoa!

Welcome to New Zealand!

Far over the Misty Mountains cold. . .

The next street over.