Thursday, February 2, 2023

Hobbiton, 2008

Way back in the earliest days of this blog, I didn't post many photos. Not that I didn't take them...my philosophy of photography has always been to take lots of pix: some might turn out. But in 2008, wifi was scarce, not strong, bandwidth was narrow, and rented time on the internet (remember Internet Cafes?) was dear. So my original post from Hobbiton included just two pix. With some time, thanks to the atmospheric river now deluging the North Island, I have decided to revisit 2008 and post some of the pix taken then. Things have changed greatly, especially after the making of The Hobbit and rebuilding of the original LOTR set, and I imagine all the Alexanders, owners of the original sheep ranch, and their heirs, now have mansions and yachts for their trouble. 

In those days, you rode the Hobbiton bus from what is
now the TI in Matamata

Arrival

Pretty much what was there...after filming was done, the whole
set was "deconstructed"...leaving the Alexanders little to work with;
had weather not intervened, even these would have been removed

Then, as now, a guide took the bus-load
of you around to see the "sites"; aided by
blown-up photos from the movies to help
you remember/imagine


The Party Tree in 2008; pretty fulsome back then

The pond

As it appeared in the movies, with the Green Dragon

Us, there, then

More helpful movie scene pix

Just right of bottom center, I think, is (Sir) Peter Jackson...right
attire, right girth, right facial hair...

Our guide declaims

Pretty much what was there is 2008...cue ominous foreboding
foreshadowing sheep music

Bag End as it appeared in the movies...

Bag End in 2008

Gandalf and Bilbo doing their dueling smoke-rings
scene

Me, there, after 4 months of Asian food and a trek to Everest;
maybe I should go back...

Us, down from the door where it began...

Vicki, still on natural knees; since the filming of
The Hobbit, and the reconstructon, no one has been
permitted beyond the gate at Bag End

The gate, then

Movie view from Bag End

Louder ominous foreshadowing sheep music...

So, after the hour-long  "tour" of the "movie set," guests were
treated to a sheep-shearing...a reminder that the Alexander ranch
was still a working ranch (it still is, although the sheep, thousands
of them, now are kept out of view); and perhaps to preclude any
complaints about the value of the tour

Sheep-shearing is a national sport in New Zealand,
and this guy was good

Not sure what the dental exam has to do with wool; perhaps a
diversionary tactic to distract the shearee...?

Zip, zip, zip...

The facial expressions are priceless

And if the shearing didn't knock your socks off, you get to feed
a lamb too!


Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Hobbiton, 2023, Night

And now, the never seen before on this blog night-time views of Hobbiton...




As night fell, we were summoned back to Green Dragon...

For the dessert course, which actually was pretty excellent

And then led back outside for the torch-lit walk around the pond

Thus reflecting the village's lights





Great night shots taken by Vicki


Looking back at the Green Dragon

Parting shot before boarding the bus; thanks, girls,
for a special visit!


Hobbiton, 2023, Day

It was our fourth visit to Hobbiton, the others starting in 2008, before there was actually much there. We had done the standard tour twice before, in 2014 and 2018, but for Christmas our daughters Rebecca and Rachel had given us tickets to do the evening banquet at the Green Dragon plus the torch-lit night walk around the village. It was a special treat. As usual, we took way too many pix, but have whittled them down and divided them by day and by night. Many more such pix, except those by night, can be seen in our previous Hobbiton posts. Just enter "Hobbiton" in the search box.

The night before our tour, we had stayed at a farm camp (Farmer
Maggot's) on a hill with this amazing "Shire" view; beautiful countryside
all over the island between Auckland and Rotorua

View from Shire's Rest the entry point where one catches the
tour bus to the village proper); we'd never noticed the mountains
before

The tour begins: the really big advantage of the evening banquet
program is that you tour with just your one group (about fifty); 
during the day tours, busloads are arriving every 10-15 minutes and
there can be as many as four or five groups touring the place at any
given time

Without the multitudes--40-50% of whom have neither read the
books nor seen the movies--there are time and opportunity to
indulge one's Inner Fantasy fantasies and to get some better pix



Ever-attentive to the affairs of birds and bees...here is a hobbit
sparrow (center) that has been working the sunflower seeds

And a pollinating bee, gathering nectar

Back to the main narrative thread

Us, there

Party Tree, pond, Green Dragon

Closer up

Bag End, chez Bilbo

Way back in 2008, one could march right up to "the door where
it began" and have one's picture made; not any more...

Us, there, 2023


For TFOTKR, Sir Peter had to provide a tree over Bag End, as
described by Tolkien

And there it is still, 72,000 plastic leaves, individually fastened
to the "limbs," each painted green by scores of art students; the
magic of movies....

Chez Samwise; the two holes adjoining will be excavated this
spring and enlarged; and made into "living" hobbit-holes for
tourists to visit

Excellent signage

Looking across the pond to the Green Dragon

Down by the old mill

Pre-literate signage

Approaching the Green Dragon

Hearty fare: practical tip...it's all family-style, the tables are long,
seating perhaps 18-20, and only one set of tongs provided at each
end of the table: don't sit in the middle!

Hobbits are better known for their insatiable appetites, not for their
discriminating tastes

But no one went away hungry

Nor thirsty (I took thirty minutes off from my dry January)

Green Dragon interior

Himself

After the main dinner, we were ushered outside to stretch and
appreciate the twilight