James & Quene travelling around the World

Hello again!

As most of you know the Lord of The Rings trilogy was filmed in New Zealand. 150 locations were used throughout the country for filming, part of the agreement was to have the sets removed so that the countryside could be returned to the original state after filming. Luckily enough, just one set remains partially still standing, that of Hobbiton, just outside the small town of Matamata, some 112km southwest of Auckland. Peter Jackson flew over New Zealand trying to find ideal spots for filming and he found a sheep farm here that was ideal for the location of Hobbiton. So welcome to Hobbiton!

Hola de nuevo.

Esp: El señor de los anillos se rodo en Nueva Zelanda, de las 150 localizaciones que utilizaron son una queda en pie, lo demas se destruyo, asi que aprovechamos que nos pillaba de paso para visitar Hobiton en Matamata (pueblo en medio de ninguna parte 112km de Auckland , elegido por Peter Jackson para la localizacion de Hobbiton). Solo cuando estas alli entiendes porque PJ eligio este lugar. Bienvenidos a Hobbiton…!!!

The tour was a bit pricey (NZ$50, for a 2 hour tour), but if you are a fan of JRR Tolkein, it is worth the visit! They had already began to diamantle this set, but that was interrupted by bad weather, so they left it for a while until the weather would improve, meanwhile someone decided that they could try to save it and use it as a tourist attraction, Peter Jackson and the movie company agreed. We were lucky with the weather though, and even the sun gave us this amazing ring, as if the Lord of the Rings himself was looking down on us! No camera trickery here I can assure you!

Esp: El tour era muy caro (NZ$50 , 2 horas de tour) pero si eres fan de JRRTolkien merece la pena venir, este set de la peli estaba destinado a ser destruido pero la lluvia lo salvo.. llovio tan fuerte que pararon la “demolicion”… despues de unos meses alguien tuvo una brillante idea, conservarlo. Esp: No solo tuvimos mucha suerte con el tiempo, ademas el sol nos deleito con esta imagen, no es un efecto de camara.

If you have the DVD take a look, or you might remember from the movie. This is the tree where they celebrated Bilbos Birthday Party, and one of the reasons Mr Jackson chose this site, along with the small lake and no manmade structures in sight.

Esp: Si teneis el DVD a mano echarle un vistazo, este es el arbol donde Bilbo celebro su cumpleaños, y una de las razones por las que P Jackson eligio este lugar, un arbol inmenso al lado de un lago, colinas verdes y nada que recuerde a civilizacion alrededor.

If you remember Bagg Eng, the house where Bilbo lived, well this is it, from the outside, inside there is not much to see, we ventured inside as you can see. The movie scenes indoors were filmed at the studios in Wellington.

Esp: Alguien recuerda Bagg End donde vivia Bilbo, pues estumos dentro.. esta vacio, pero siempre estuvo asi los muebles y todo lo que habia dentro se rodo en un estudio en Wellington.

Besides Hobbiton, Matamata can also boast some natural thermal springs, Opal Springs, also a campsite, where we stayed. There are large hot pools, between 29C and 40C. Great for the skin and the bones. There is a also a private pool you can rent out for half an hour or so, surrounded by ferns and plants, great! The water is so clear that they say that if you were able to put a newspaper at the bottom you could read it from the surface!

Esp: A parte de Hobbiton otro de las joyas que puedes encontrar en Matamata es Opal Springs, una piscina de agua caliente natural sulfurada, buena para la piel y reuma. Una piscina privada alrededor de mil plantas, alquilas por media hora y estas completamente solo…el agua es tan clara que dicen que puedes poner un periodico en el fondo y leerlo.