J.R.R. Tolkien.  Author of some of our favorite books, now turned movies.  A favorite of all of ours, how could we not visit New Zealand, where the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were filmed?  The scenery in the movies made the books come to life and we were captivated with the thought of visiting some of the same locations in which these movies were made.  Truth be told, we had never really considered New Zealand as a destination before viewing the movies.

And then there was Hobbiton!  Should we or shouldn’t we?  With four little fans and two big ones, the choice was easy.  Think anyone below is excited?

We were directed to meet at “The Shire!”  That alone resulted in very excited children.  We were then picked up in a large bus and thankfully, had only fifteen other people with us, though other groups were larger.  Our tour guide was patient and kind, leading us through one stop at a time, and allowing us plenty of time to photograph what we wanted to.

We meandered through all of the trails, leading from one unique hobbit hole to another.  I loved seeing all of the intricate details they had included, like drying laundry and tiny mailboxes.  The colors and flowers were vibrant.  Our tour guide also shared a lot of information we were unaware of.

After the tour, we stopped off for a drink and a few scones before returning to reality.  It was a lovely day, though I have to admit, having Frodo and Samwise Gamgee stroll into town with Gandalf, Legolas, and Aragorn closely behind would have topped off the day brilliantly.

In terms of full disclosure, Hobbiton Tours did offer us a significant family discount as “Explore” travel agents, but the opinions and feedback above reflect our actual thoughts and opinions on  our experience.