Do you greet your friends in Elvish? Rattle off places on the Middle Earth map from memory? Read the JRR Tolkein books and watch the trilogy over and over again, when you’re down and out? Then congratulations, my friend. You’re a certified Lord of the Rings fan. And if in fact, you ARE one, you will certainly have made it your life’s mission to visit Middle Earth at some point in your natural existence and be a Hobbit.
For me, the ultimate LOTR fanboy, that point came sooner than I’d have imagined.
But let’s pick up from where we left off last. After my first week in Hamilton, New Zealand, I still had another week to go before my course began. So, instead of getting to know my city better (which would have been the smart thing to do), the nerdboy in me was aching to do what every LOTR fan wants to do when in New Zealand – visit the film’s iconic set locations!
Matamata – The Shire
First up was Matamata, a suburban town in the Waikato region in North Island where the Shire, home of the Hobbits was filmed. Those rolling, emerald hills that stretch for evergreen miles on end have always fascinated me since first I saw the Fellowship of the Ring (2001) while still in school.
But the most mesmerising sight was when I got in front of that legendary green door – home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and that bench where Gandalf and Bilbo sat and smoked the Old Toby pipe weed. Feeling rather nostalgic, I decided I'd have a go. Perching myself on top of the chair, I popped a cigarette and put one leg on top of the other, pretending I'd come back home after a hard day's work. ( I realise only now in hindsight, and with five years of perspective, how utterly stupid I looked).
“And what on earth do you think you're doing?" snapped an irate tour guide, shaking me all too soon out of a rather pleasant reverie. " Oh, I was just pretending to be Bilbo Baggins", I beamed at him, sure he'd be proud. "Put that thing out, it's a no-smoking zone!" As he stalked off, I swore I heard him say, "stupid, pig-headed tourists", while "Bilbo's pipe dream went sadly up in smoke.
The tour led its way to The Green Dragon after that, where I had a drink or two, although, unlike the films there was no beautiful Rosie Cotton to greet at the bar.
Since a drink at The Green Dragon wasn’t as fulfilling as I had hoped, I went pub hopping in the small town of Matamata in the afternoon. If you are at this place and want to embrace local Maori culture, make sure you visit this quaint little pub called the Horse and Jockey Inn. While it has nothing to do with the equestrian trade, a large majority of the town's native Maori population hangs out .
Wellington – Rivendell and Lothlorien Forests
If you are visiting Middle Earth (and of course you are), you cannot miss scouting out the House of Elrond – Imladris. The scenes of Rivendell were shot inside the Kaitoke Regional Park in the Capital city of Wellington. After a seven-hour bus journey from Hamilton, I was finally there.
Of course, a lot of what you saw in the movies was digitally altered, but even its natural charms do a lot to compensate. And if that’s not enough to justify a visit, the section used for filming includes a special exhibit explaining the construction method and how the final result was achieved.
Add to that, there is a fun activity which involves your wearing Elvish costumes to get photographed; you can even draw your blade for a duel with a friend. I chose to fire a few arrows for 'target practice', but sadly, unlike my rather gifted Woodland kin Legolas, I didn’t hit the target even once despite being just 10 metres from it.
My visit to Rivendell was done, but I was still hungry for more prime Elvish real estate. And if you're as big an Elvish groupie as I am, head to Fernside Gardens, an hour’s drive from Wellington city. That’s because it was the location used to create Lothlorien, home of Elven Queen Lady Galadriel
Beer Tasting and Tours
If you are in Wellington, but not really an LOTR enthusiast, one thing that you must do is take a beer tasting tour with the Craft Beer College. Take my word for it, if you aren’t a beer person, Stephanie Coutts and team will manage to make you one. The beers were just that darned good.
And it doesn’t end there. In case you ever harboured hopes of talking to your friends like a beer connoisseur, this place might just make one out of you! From the way an ale or beer has been brewed to the specifics of that particular brand in your hand, there’s little you won’t know at the end of the day. Did you know, for instance, that there are more than 100 different types of beer?Suffice to say, it was one of the best afternoons I was going to remember from Wellington.
For a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan boy, this was the trip of a lifetime, and to imagine that it was only half complete! My trip to South Island (New Zealand) and a visit to the locations for Gondor and Mordor were next on my itinerary and I could not wait.
I do believe it was at this point that I realised New Zealand, where I was living out some of my oldest and warmest childhood memories, wasn’t so foreign after all.
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