Just like the sign says...here we are on the very ground that the Movie "The Hobbit" was filmed on ....not very far from Auckland at all and just near Hamilton...
the road into the movie set was built by the NZ army as an exercise ...one point five kilometres of blue metal road in ....which had to take heavy vehicles and thousand of kilos of equipment used in the movie....and as part of the filming ...
and this is where we walked in through to get to the actual set....
who came through here in a cart????
We didn't really think you would be able to drive a cart through here...but when we walked through it does fit....,
Cameron ...our trusty tour guide...and what this guy didn't know about the set and the details!!!!!...well i will expound on a bit of the information he gave us soon.....
here is what we saw as we came through into the valley.... you don't want to know how many thousands of dollars it cost to build that pond.....squillions i am told...
one would believe that the moss and lichen covering all the fences and buildings was old and real and had been there for absolutely ages...NOT SO.... it is a mixture of yoghurt, sawdust and the correct coloured paint all mixed and shot onto the areas through a paint ball gun....
and then it was a look at all the Hobbit holes.....
NOW...these Hobbit Holes were just facades....mounds of earth pushed up and grassed the holes were excavated into the mounds and there was a retaining wall built to hold back the mound at about a metre and half in behind the door...sooooo we were told that these holes where just that ...holes in the formed earth with a really fancy façade....all the movie was shot in the studio....
OH LOOK...is that a Hobbit in that window????
the ticket with the cost of how much the entrance fee was and that included the guided tour cost...
the windows where just so fascinating to me... all round or shaped just like the doors...
Now which way.....???
the carvings weathering with time....
here is a story you may not know...they built these 5 holes and they were never even used in the movie ...there was exactly THIRTY SEVEN HOBBIT HOLES altogether....
the oak tree.... an amazing story....the director Peter Jackson saw the tree on a farm in the district...he approached the farmer and offered him a ridiculous amount of money...of course he accepted...then came the experts and the semi-trailers to take the tree back to the movie set..AFTER THEY HAD CUT IT INTO 753 NUMBERED PIECES..that is ...they then proceeded to re-bolt all the numbered pieces back together...the director had ordered 25000 hand painted oak leaves to come from Asia.... these were hand wired onto the tree....
Peter Jackson had to take a four month break from filming at this stage due to illness....when he returned ..sadly...the elements had reeked havoc on the tree and its leaves ..fading them so they looked more blue than green...
SSSSSSSOOOOooooo...all those leaves had to be taken off the tree and sent down to the Art Dept. at the Auckland University where they were all repainted ...once again they were taken back to the Movie Set and the laborious job of rewiring them all on by had was undertaken...HOWEVER almost three quarters of the way through this process it was discovered that the tree had succumbed to dry rot.... no giving up on the perfect tree now though ....an impression was taken of each of the 753 pieces of the tree and a perfect reconstructed artificial piece was made ...then painted to look exactly like the bark of the oak tree...now to re-wire (by hand)all of the 2500 hand painted leaves back on and commence re-filming....
The Green Dragon Lodge ...not Hobbit size this pub....
all modelled on the same architecture of the the Hobbit Holes with the same round doors etc...
all the carvings were hand done by specialist wood turners carvers hired to work on the set...
the roaring fire was so welcoming ....i just wanted to back up and warm myself.....
the carved namesake of the lodge....the Green Dragon...
the Bridge....all made with polystyrene and artificial stones stuck on to look like the real thing....but we did walk over it...
those amazing round or arched windows ...inviting you to walk up and look through them...
the gardens are tended by 7 full time gardeners who are employed on the set....(well it is no longer a working set as such)...vegetables galore....but has now become a tourist site visited by thousands each month... wonder do they actually use the veggies????
and here is one of those thousands...the perfect size for that Hobbit Hole door...mmmmm Rellies maybe????
and lastly...these chimneys are totally fake.....while filming the Movie....inside these chimneys was placed a small container in which a mixture os pine needles, beeswax and sawdust was placed and set to burn and smoke ...thus creating the desired effect of a burning hearth fire inside the Hobbit Hole...
Was it worth the visit....???
yes it most certainly was..especially if you are and avid fan...(like the three Irish young people in their 30s who tagged along with us)
i kept thinking of how my grandies would have loved to be here ...
perhaps next trip girls!!!!!
So fun! My sister and brother would die over this! I am going to pass them a link to your blog to take a look. My oldest sister says when her daughter graduates (in 8 years) this is where she wants to go. :) Looks like a blast! I wouldn't mind coming along with them.
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