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The real-life Hobbiton in New Zealand


In 2001, filmmaker Peter Jackson used New Zealand’s plush and primeval landscape as the backdrop for J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings. The beauty of New Zealand captured in these films is often cited by nearly 150,000 tourists as their reason for traveling to New Zealand and has led to […]

In 2001, filmmaker Peter Jackson used New Zealand’s plush and primeval landscape as the backdrop for J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings. The beauty of New Zealand captured in these films is often cited by nearly 150,000 tourists as their reason for traveling to New Zealand and has led to the island advertising itself as “100 per cent Middle-earth.” Now,  thanks to a local farmer, visitors on the island can enjoy Jackson’s films like never before. According to Tourism New Zealand, nearly 266,000 people have visited Hobbiton — a semi-underground  Hobbit village Jackson modeled after Tolkien‘s writings. Hobbiton, located in the small farm town Matamata, was partially bulldozed by Jackson’s crew after filming but it was the ingenuity of property owner and farmer Russell Alexander, who maintained and covered the basic costs of repair for the next 10 years, that kept this fairy tale spectacle alive.

When Jackson returned to  Matamata two years ago to begin filming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Alexander convinced the director to chip in some money and now Hobbiton is a joint venture between Alexander’s family and WingNut Films, Jackson’s production company. Ready for New Zealand tourism season — which begins in November — the newly renovated Hobbiton has a pub, electric fence to keep sheep out and a gift shop carrying high-end collectibles. ~Brandon Bastaldo

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