Zok and I were unsure about going on the 'Hobbiton' tour, which is a guided tour of the some 16 acres of the Alexander family farm used to create the set of 'The Shire' in the Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Zok and I both individually and collectively shy away from 'group tours'.
The last one we did was the only way in which to see the royal palace in Kyoto, Japan. We tried to sneak out more than once only to be herded back to the group; politely.
I have gone to many a movie location, houses and parks used by the BBC for adaptations of Jane Austen or one of the Bronte novels.
I was a bit wary of this excursion as it was both a tour and a set.
Set being the key word, set for me implies looking behind the curtain, as there is a thing I believe in, called 'movie magic'. I need to keep my ability to suspend belief and really get into the experience of the movies I watch.
Mostly, though in this ongoing age of DVD extras, and enough media to reach even the farthest edges of the planet, I knew mostly what to expect. I knew that the interiors of the 'The Green Dragon' and Frodo's hobbit hole would have been shot on a set elsewhere.
I was pleasantly surprised, the still working sheep farm has done a nice set up, from the cafe (wood beams, iron hinges and door handles), baby lambs scattered about the picnic area as one waits for the tour to begin. I think after the town of Rotorua, the attention by the farm to detail was pleasing.
Our guide told us that this location was picked mostly the tree near the lake (the party tree for Bilbo's birthday party). The tree was one area that was untouched. The army was hired to build the road which was used for the film crew, and now the tours. Movie magic was indeed accessed for touches such as bringing in trees described in the book, the best being an Oak tree bought from a neighbor, cut into pieces, thousands of itemized pieces, which were then reconstructed, with the touch of individually wiring, perfect, fake leaves onto this tree.
The set is also unique for the fact that the set remains at all, due to weather, the crew was unable to get all the facades down, and asked for a grace period, during that time, so many people showed up on the farms doorstep, they petitioned for permission to run tours, and gaining this permission were able to keep the unadorned remaining hobbit holes.
The hedges and fruit trees are new additions for the proposed start of filming for 'The Hobbit'. I, for one am quite excited by the prospect.
The farm itself really is lovely, no power lines and from the area of the lake there is quiet, no planes over head or street noise, the rolling hills seem to go on if not for miles then definitely chapters.
Zok and I both individually and collectively shy away from 'group tours'.
The last one we did was the only way in which to see the royal palace in Kyoto, Japan. We tried to sneak out more than once only to be herded back to the group; politely.
I have gone to many a movie location, houses and parks used by the BBC for adaptations of Jane Austen or one of the Bronte novels.
I was a bit wary of this excursion as it was both a tour and a set.
Set being the key word, set for me implies looking behind the curtain, as there is a thing I believe in, called 'movie magic'. I need to keep my ability to suspend belief and really get into the experience of the movies I watch.
Mostly, though in this ongoing age of DVD extras, and enough media to reach even the farthest edges of the planet, I knew mostly what to expect. I knew that the interiors of the 'The Green Dragon' and Frodo's hobbit hole would have been shot on a set elsewhere.
I was pleasantly surprised, the still working sheep farm has done a nice set up, from the cafe (wood beams, iron hinges and door handles), baby lambs scattered about the picnic area as one waits for the tour to begin. I think after the town of Rotorua, the attention by the farm to detail was pleasing.
Our guide told us that this location was picked mostly the tree near the lake (the party tree for Bilbo's birthday party). The tree was one area that was untouched. The army was hired to build the road which was used for the film crew, and now the tours. Movie magic was indeed accessed for touches such as bringing in trees described in the book, the best being an Oak tree bought from a neighbor, cut into pieces, thousands of itemized pieces, which were then reconstructed, with the touch of individually wiring, perfect, fake leaves onto this tree.
The set is also unique for the fact that the set remains at all, due to weather, the crew was unable to get all the facades down, and asked for a grace period, during that time, so many people showed up on the farms doorstep, they petitioned for permission to run tours, and gaining this permission were able to keep the unadorned remaining hobbit holes.
The hedges and fruit trees are new additions for the proposed start of filming for 'The Hobbit'. I, for one am quite excited by the prospect.
The farm itself really is lovely, no power lines and from the area of the lake there is quiet, no planes over head or street noise, the rolling hills seem to go on if not for miles then definitely chapters.
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