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Aww this makes me sad, my camera literally bricked itself halfway through the tour and corrupted the SD card in the process. My cell phone camera was really crappy at the time, and all my surviving photos turned out really bad. I hope my wife and I get back to NZ one day to recreate the photos!
Is this really a place?...
yes, it is. They actually built hobbiton
This was the most tourist trap-y place I visited when I was in New Zealand, but it was still everything I had hoped for.
Why do you say it was a tourist trap? Were they selling cheap plastic wands for $36 or something?
Yes, it seemed everything they sold there was overpriced. Especially compared to everywhere else we went that either didn't have souvenirs, or if they did they were reasonably priced for what they were. Their cafe also seemed expensive, with lower quality food than other places we went.
For example, I bought a Hobbit hole figurine from Weta workshop. The exact same figurine was almost double in price at Hobbiton. I considered buying a T-shirt there, it was 40 USD, and I ultimately decided was not worth it. I bought other gift shop t shirts elsewhere for under 20 USD.
That said, the tour itself was fantastic and I absolutely loved it. They did a great job of capturing the vibe of Hobbiton and the detail they put into the holes was awesome.
Sounds like it was still worth the trip. If I ever end up on that side of the world, I'll do the tour, but pack a lunch. Thanks for the information!
Absolutely. And to be fair, this is in comparison to other attractions I visited while in NZ. It was perfectly in line with what you would expect from somewhere in the USA. I think I saw a single gift shop during my entire time on the South Island, and the ones on the North Island seemed shockingly reasonable.
I remember reading somewhere the original film sets were abandoned.
Are these the same, rebuilt, or a different recreation?
They were rebuilt to be more permanent for the Hobbit movies.
iirc they had to remove them after the Fellowship came out due to environmental impact concerns, rebuilt them for Return of the King's ending, demolished them again, and then rebuilt them for the Hobbit, finally in a place that was accessible enough to maintain as a community but remote enough to match the film's landscape.
Hobbiton, Middle-earth*
Love that this is a thing! Need to get down to NZ at some point