Merry: I wouldn't count on it.
When I read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, I knew right away that I could relate to the simple life of a Hobbit. Hobbits love to eat, play, and be merry with their friends and family. If you ask me, there is nothing that really beats that. After watching the movies, I had a new goal of going to The Shire in New Zealand and see what one of the most beautiful places in Middle Earth looks like in person. Hannah and I have been talking about this day since senior year in college when we first came up with the New Zealand idea.
As we drove down the curvy roads, through the farm land, Hannah and I became more and more excited; Pier and Dejan laughing as our excitement was bubbling over! We got to the Hobbiton base, where a bus took us out to where they had The Shire set. It was a big deal for Peter Jackson to find the perfect spot for The Shire. It was suppose to represent the beauty and simplicity of England. He sent planes out to scout for the perfect spots. Once he "discovered" the then small family farm, he knocked on their door and asked if he could take a look around. The owner was busy watching a rugby game, so he told him to go check it out himself. I think if that farmer knew what his land was about to turn into, he may have turned off that TV. :)
We were in a tour group with about 20 other people. Along the tour, the guide gave us a lot of facts about the making of the movie. For example: At the beginning of the movie, Frodo and Gandalf are riding together in Gandalf's horse and carriage. In order to make Frodo look small, he is actually sitting about 3 meters back from Gandalf. The following are a bunch of pictures of our day in Hobbiton. Words can't describe how cool it was, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Everything in this garden is real. They hire gardeners to keep up the maintenance. The tour guides get the vegetables for free!
One of the first Hobbit holes we saw.
Bilbo Baggins' house!
This is Sam's house. Seen at the end of the Return of the King. Sam's daughter in the movie is his daughter in real life.
On to the Green Dragon for a pint!
The Green Dragon Inn
Just drinking our ales at the Green Dragon...no big deal...
We could even dress like Hobbits!
It's safe to say that this was one of the coolest days in New Zealand! Hannah was the perfect partner to nerd out with! Quoting lines from the movie and pretending that we lived in The Shire too.
Our next step is Rotorua. An area VERY similar to Yellowstone National Park. Leaving the beautiful, fresh smell of The Shire to the rotten egg smell of sulfur... Wooohooo!
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