Down Under With Gusto (Part IX)

Although I am a big Lord of The Rings fan, I had misgivings about joining The Hobbiton tour. I wasn’t sure how much of the set was kept and the tour wasn’t exactly cheap. But I also knew that I’d regret not going, so, waiting until the last minute, I booked with Red Carpet Tours. Cheaper rates can be had if you arrange your own transportation to Matamata where most tours depart but, seeing that the weather was erratic, I opted for an all-inclusive tour with lunch and hotel pickup.

In the two hours that it took us to get to the sheep farm where the movie set was located, I was so taken by the beauty of New Zealand. No matter which side you looked, there was always a view to be admired. The grandeur reached its height at our destination, with its undulating terrain carpeted in a dense green and dotted with hundreds of fluffy white sheep.

We got off our van and boarded a bus, which took us to “The Shire.” During the ride, it was all oohs and aahs. When we finally arrived at the set, the child in us simply took over.





I felt for a moment that there was nothing better in the world than living in a hobbit-hole facing a vegetable patch.



I was so into it that I even went inside one house and had my photo taken while looking out the window.



The biggest was Bilbo Baggins’s house, which had a sweeping view of The Shire and the sweep of green beyond it.



By the time we got to the Party Tree, it started to rain. Hard. We had seen all the houses by then so we rushed to the Green Dragon pub for a refreshing ginger ale.






Ahh! I was as happy as a hobbit can be.

I got back at my hotel at around 4 p.m. I wanted to explore and have dinner at Parnell, which was described during our bus tour as a charming, high-end neighborhood.

All city buses and trains depart from Britomart, which was a short walk from the hotel. Aside from being a transport hub, Britomart turned out to be a happening place clustered with charming shops and restaurants. I considered having dinner there instead but decided to stick to the original plan and took the bus to Parnell.



It was a chilly weeknight and Parnell was quiet. I had no idea where to eat so I chose the busiest place, La Porchetta, where I had my fill of spaghetti and pizza.

P. S. Before heading out that morning, I grabbed a latte and a bran ginger muffin at Sofitel’s 21 Viaduct Cafe. The muffin was sooo good. It was beautifully moist and flavorful. It was genius.