Hobbiton

Exploring Hobbiton was quite a sentimental moment because it reminded me about Stew inviting me on the trip and sharing his dream with me.

The first time I met Stew’s mum was also the first time I’d seen Stew’s world tour route and started to understand the scale of it.

A notable place on the map was Hobbiton. He showed me the whole journey and about how we’d get to Hobbiton once we made it to New Zealand.

We paid rather a lot to go, about £230, partly because we went on a tour and lunch, and partly because we went from Rotorua which is about a hour away. It was worth it.

Our tour lasted about 2 hours and it was really informative about the film, little facts like the entire artificial tree at Bag End and insights into the filming and what happened where. It ended with a cider at the famous Green Dragon and a buffet lunch.

🌟 Fun fact: The Green Dragon is New Zealand’s busiest pub with 1,000 visitors a day!

You can actually get married at Hobbiton! I wouldn’t personally, but you can and it really would be a lovely place to do it. I would’ve said it was too busy but the tours are so well managed you could easily get some distance from the crowds 😅

The one downside is that we missed a Hobbit Hole with interiors all decked out by three weeks. They’re expanding the experience right now and the construction work was going on. That’s ok because I want to come back to NZ in five years (probably will be more like ten!)

We loved the day and it was quite magical standing in the fantastical land of Hobbiton. As a young teen I had watched Lord of the Rings over and over again. It was a firm favourite between myself and my best friend, Jess. We still quote the films now.

Lord of the Rings just reminds me of such simple times 😄 and now Hobbiton reminds me of the dream that Stew conjured up and invited me along.

And somehow we made it to Hobbiton by bike.

We went from sat in front of his PC in his small bedroom with a single bed, dreaming about a huge adventure.

18,500 miles later and an unexpected FIVE years, we made it, and it just felt lovely. What an accomplishment.

#hobbiton #explorenewzealand #cycletouringnewzealand #cyclenewzealand