Day 2
Auckland City to Hobbiton Movie Set
Hobbiton Movie Set was approximately 2.5 hours drive from Auckland City. The scenery was beautiful along the way. It was our first time seeing so many sheep and cows roaming around the big patches of grass on both sides of the road! I was beginning to like the other side, the real side, of New Zealand now!
Hobbiton Movie Set
Address: 501 Buckland Rd, Hinuera, Matamata 3400, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7-888 1505
Operating Hours: 9am - 5pm daily
Website: http://www.hobbitontours.com/
Tour prices from the Matamata i-SITE: Adult $75.00, Youth (10-14yrs) $37.50, Child (5-9yrs) $10.00, Infant (0-4yrs) $ 0.00
No worries if you are driving there instead of taking their tour bus from your accommodation as parking is free and there are plenty of slots available. Also, the car park is right next to 2 different fences containing the sheep and cows separately!
Tour bus leading to the Hobbiton will depart every 45min. We did not book any tour prior to our arrival as one of my ex-colleague advised me that I can just purchase the tickets right at the counter and wait for the next tour. It cost us NZD 75 per pax, a little pricey we felt. But the price paid was to help in their maintenance of the Hobbiton so as to accommodate the huge number of visitors over the years and it's once in a lifetime experience! Who knows when we will return to Hobbiton?
Our tour was 2.30pm and we boarded the bus around 2.15pm. It's just a short 5min drive to Hobbiton. Do wear comfortable footwear as it's a walking trail! You aren't going to be sitting on the tour bus throughout the tour.
Yup, the pictures above summed up our Hobbiton Movie Set tour. We enjoyed the 1.5h+ tour with the cute hobbit houses and of course the beer. We set off to Taupo once we got back to the main entrance where we parked our car.
It's another 1-2 hours drive from Matamata to Taupo, where our next accommodation was situated. As we drove, we witnessed our first sunset in New Zealand which was purplish-orange!
We stopped by a small eatery at Tokoroa, halfway in between Matamata and Taupo, to grab our dinner. The burgers were not impressive. =/
Lake Taupo Motor Inn
Address: 33 Kaimanawa Street, Taupo, New Zealand 3330
Contact:+64 7 378 5401
Our accommodation for the next 2 nights at Lake Taupo Motor Inn's Executive Suite with Jacuzzi. Did not have the chance to take good pictures of the suite as I was too tired from the journey. Oh yes, we were able to see many many hundreds thousands of stars from our balcony!!!!
Due to personal reasons, I will not continue the rest of the parts. I hope to visit NZ again soon.
New Zealand 2015 Posts:
Part 1 - Singapore to Auckland
Auckland City to Hobbiton Movie Set
Hobbiton Movie Set was approximately 2.5 hours drive from Auckland City. The scenery was beautiful along the way. It was our first time seeing so many sheep and cows roaming around the big patches of grass on both sides of the road! I was beginning to like the other side, the real side, of New Zealand now!
 |
| Can you spot the animals? |
Hobbiton Movie Set
Address: 501 Buckland Rd, Hinuera, Matamata 3400, New Zealand
Phone: +64 7-888 1505
Operating Hours: 9am - 5pm daily
Website: http://www.hobbitontours.com/
Tour prices from the Matamata i-SITE: Adult $75.00, Youth (10-14yrs) $37.50, Child (5-9yrs) $10.00, Infant (0-4yrs) $ 0.00
No worries if you are driving there instead of taking their tour bus from your accommodation as parking is free and there are plenty of slots available. Also, the car park is right next to 2 different fences containing the sheep and cows separately!
 |
| Meh mehs |
 |
| Moo Moos |
 |
| Gandalf 'guarding' over the ticketing counter |
Tour bus leading to the Hobbiton will depart every 45min. We did not book any tour prior to our arrival as one of my ex-colleague advised me that I can just purchase the tickets right at the counter and wait for the next tour. It cost us NZD 75 per pax, a little pricey we felt. But the price paid was to help in their maintenance of the Hobbiton so as to accommodate the huge number of visitors over the years and it's once in a lifetime experience! Who knows when we will return to Hobbiton?
 |
| Cafe, one level above ticketing counter |
 |
| With great view |
 |
| My hot chocolate |
Our tour was 2.30pm and we boarded the bus around 2.15pm. It's just a short 5min drive to Hobbiton. Do wear comfortable footwear as it's a walking trail! You aren't going to be sitting on the tour bus throughout the tour.
 |
| Let's go! |
 |
| Our female tour guide in her sunglasses |
 |
| Just me pretending to do some laundry |
 |
| Bench perfect for my size, should I be happy or sad? |
 |
| Such cute honey jars! |
 |
| Right sized for the little girl! How adorable! |
 |
| Frodo Baggins' house entrance |
 |
| Featuring the 6-digit $$ tree with Frodo Baggins' house in Lord of the Rings |
 |
| The place where the hobbits gathered in the movie |
 |
| Onward to The Green Dragon™ Inn for a beer! |
 |
| Bridge leading to The Green Dragon™ Inn |
 |
| The Green Dragon™ Inn |
 |
| Panoramic view of the lake next to The Green Dragon™ Inn on the right |
 |
| One complimentary beer per pax, don't take the ginger beer if you don't like ginger! |
 |
| <3 |
It's another 1-2 hours drive from Matamata to Taupo, where our next accommodation was situated. As we drove, we witnessed our first sunset in New Zealand which was purplish-orange!
We stopped by a small eatery at Tokoroa, halfway in between Matamata and Taupo, to grab our dinner. The burgers were not impressive. =/
Lake Taupo Motor Inn
Address: 33 Kaimanawa Street, Taupo, New Zealand 3330
Contact:+64 7 378 5401
Our accommodation for the next 2 nights at Lake Taupo Motor Inn's Executive Suite with Jacuzzi. Did not have the chance to take good pictures of the suite as I was too tired from the journey. Oh yes, we were able to see many many hundreds thousands of stars from our balcony!!!!
 |
| Starry starry night, the best the my Canon PowerShot S100 could capture. |
Due to personal reasons, I will not continue the rest of the parts. I hope to visit NZ again soon.
New Zealand 2015 Posts:
Part 1 - Singapore to Auckland
Do you have part 3? :)
ReplyDeleteHi MeiFoong, thank you for asking! Yes I hope! I have been travelling quite a lot and it's really difficult to find time for me to continue posting for my NZ trip. I just got back from USA (check out #LCinUSA on Instagram if you are interested) and will start writing soon! :)
DeleteHi looking forward to your part 3..intending to go with my baby who will be 10mths old then...
ReplyDeleteHi Rashidah, thank you for your message. I have been wanting to write about part 3 too! I am busy with work and also duty travels. I hope I can get it updated before your trip with your baby commences! =)
Deletesad... taupo will be the most exciting part of the read... too bad nv get to see part 3. T.T
ReplyDeleteHi Isaac! Yea I want to write about part 3 too! Very busy at work and I'm lagging behind too many trips too. I hope to complete my NZ trip before this year ends.
DeleteHi This is wonderful...! I am currently in making plans for myself and a group of my friends, who are mostly interested in Natural places and activities associated with it in NZ. (anything with Mountains, lakes, beaches and scenery) Can you recommend or give a jist of places in NZ that I can prioritize on? Very nice blog btw, From a fellow traveller from SG! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteHello! Yes NZ is all about natural beautiful scenery. I would strongly recommend you to visit Milford Sound, Lake Wanaka, Lake Tekapo, Franz Josef Glacier & Fox Glacier. :) Of course, there are certainly more places of interest that I never been before. Happy trip planning!
DeleteHi! Would u at least be able to share your itinerary with me? I be heading to Nz for self drive in Dec and had nothing planned. Your itinerary will be of great help to me. Thanks alot! My email add is crystalised_apple@msn.com
ReplyDeleteHi Crystal, my itinerary for NZ was actually very empty. I wasn't the main planner of the trip so it has not been finalized for distribution. I would recommend you to visit Milford Sound, Lake Wanaka, Lake Tekapo, Franz Josef Glacier & Fox Glacier. :) Do plan to drive in the day as it is pretty dangerous to drive at night in the mountainous roads. Cheers~
DeleteHi, may i know how did you all plan your lodging? appreciate it much if you would still remember and be able to share with me :)
DeleteHI, may i know how you guys plan your lodging? appreciate it much if you would still remember and be able to share with me :)
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel! We planned the route first then decided on the location of lodging depending on the journey. I have been very occupied lately and in the midst of drafting my 3rd and remaining posts for NZ. Hopefully will make it before your trip commences!
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteHope to see your post soon...:)