Hobbiton

I was ridiculous excited today because after getting up early me, Axel, Cara and Jesse jumped in the car and went to see the home of Hobbits! First order of the day was deciding if the indicator was safe to drive with after Cara crashed it a few days ago...

(yes that is water in the actual light...)

After deciding it was all good and that Axel and Cara just needed to get some orange duct tape and sort it out later (apparently thats what they do in the USA) we set out, not in exactly the right direction as none of us had a map and our internet was down at university and on our phones (we got there in the end, and with time to spare). It was a really scenic drive, as most drives are in NZ and we got to the Matamata information centre in under and hour ready for a bus to take us to the Hobbiton set.

We had an amazing tour guide who managed to keep our group, mostly, together and give us lots of random facts, including a crazy story about girls eating hundreds of plums for half a second of footage

The best bit about hobbiton was by far the crazy detail but into every aspect of it. All the leaves on one tree were individually repainted with nail varnish because Peter Jackson thought they were a shade too light; entire trees were planted, dug up, replanted and then dug up again! Apple trees had every leaf and bud picked off and then alternatives were wired and glued into place, and people were even paid to wear hobbit feet and walk around hobbiton for months before shooting to make it look lived in!

Possibly my favourite hobbit hole, but there were a wealth to choose from!

 Hobbit Hole 1

 Hobbit Hole 2

 Hobbit Hole 3

Hobbit Hole 4

 Hobbit Hole 5

 and I lost count of the doors as there are over 30!

And a hidden one

They were all very pretty and every one had the same detail put into them

I still can't get over how much thought was put into it!

 The vegetable patch (which they do pick and often serve in the Green Dragon)

One of the signs - so cute!

Birds!

 Bilbo's fake young oak tree

me outside Bag End!! 

The view from Bag End

Jesse taking a picture of the view at the top of the hill

 One or two of the doors open as well so we got to peak in (Jesse photobombing here!)

Our first sight of the Green Dragon over the bridge!

A water mill on the way to get our free drink at the Green Dragon

 We all loved these signs - Smoke Ring Contest on Tuesdays!

 There were a couple of open fires which made it feel super cosy

 Enjoying our free drink, made extra tasty because we managed to get armchairs by the log fire

(click on the picture to see it larger as small-scale doesn't do the rolling hills justice!)
The second speed bump came when we got off the bus at the gift shop and I realised I'd left my purse at the green dragon! It was found straight away and they brought it up on the next tour bus so it wasn't a huge inconvenience, in fact, because of the wait I got chance to take this beautiful shot! I saw it on the bus when we were heading to Hobbiton but there wasn't time to take a photo and I'm so glad I managed to get one.
It's typical of a lot of New Zealand's North Island landscape - lots of sheep, lots of hills! 

I can't wait for summer travelling!
Only a few more weeks and a ton of exams to get through now!