Heading Back To Auckland Via Hobbiton

My Father And I In Hobbiton

Rotorua was our last major stop. We were on our way back to Auckland, for in a few days my parents were flying on to Singapore and then home, and for me - well I was also flying on!!! Between Rotorua and Auckland however, was a little town called Matamata. If you came here 10 years ago you would find a lot of farm land, a small town but not what you would consider a major tourist destination. Skip on a decade and the farm land and small town are still here, yet now - tourists flock to this part of the country and the reason is Lord of the Rings. The filmakers used a small farm near the town of Matamata as a set for Hobbiton. And being tourists, we thought we would check it out.

As you drive through Matamata you realise that everything is Lord of the Rings related. They even have signs as you drive in to the town centre which read - "Welcome to Hobbiton". Around the town and in quite a few places in this part of the North Island, the farmland is just like the Shire, with perfectly rounded and smooth rolling hills which trace off into the distance.

So that's Matamata for you. Oddly, the world's only other Matamata, which is located in Tunisia – was a site used during filming of George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy. You really do learn something everyday - most of the something's are completely useless - but they are still something's nonetheless!!!

We continued on our way, and in a few hours, we were back in Auckland.................