Watching the steady progress of the “Bag End Build Off” reminds me ever and again of the rustic atmosphere in the Shire as photographed by the LOTR filmmakers. When I was working on my model of the Green Dragon, I spent an afternoon searching on Google Maps for the actual lake in New Zealand, just to get the geographical layout right. When I finally found the location, I was surprised to find so many tracks of the Hobbiton Village still recognizable in the landscape.

Now some of you might want to make a ‘virtual visit’ to this location. I’m not sure if there’s already a direct link existing on the Web, but here follows an ‘itinerary’ which can be used to land at the right spot.

You may think there’s little fun in staring at an empty lake but if you take a closer look, with some fantasy, the whole of P.J.’s Bywater and Hobbiton is coming alive again (and if you know where to look, you can follow Gandalf’s cart all the way from Bywater Bridge up to Bag End…).

Alright, here we go:

1) Go to Google Maps and search for: “Matamata New Zealand”. Use the map.

2) Tune in on the 5mile scale; the cursor on the +/- bar should be one step up from the middle.
West of Matamata, there’s a large bra-shaped, wooded area just below the Richmond Downs.
Our lake is situated near the south-east border of this forest.

3) Keep this forest centred and zoom in for about three steps. The forest becomes a “Native Forest”. To the south there lies “Buckland”…

4) Zoom in again (one step). Keep the south-east border of the Native Forest centred. There’s a river running alongside this border, with a lot of small tributaries. The biggest of these tributaries forks from the main stream due east of the forest before running straight to Buckland Road in the south (I think the water runs in the opposite direction…).
There are a few lakes in its neighbourhood; but only two are directly connected with this river. The southernmost lake has a kind of ‘trunk’ on the south side. That’s our lake.

5) Get this lake centred and switch to the satellite pictures.
Zoom in and start looking for familiar places:

The Green Dragon was situated on the eastern ‘hollow area’ at the head of the lake’s ‘trunk’. Sandyman’s Mill was on the opposite bank. Hobbiton was built just north of the lake: you find Bag-End Hill on the west side of the terrain (but still east of the road).

Now you may tell me: which one of these trees has been “Bilbo’s Party Tree”?

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Ab hac die aut deserta tene aut in mare demerge

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No one feels as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.

Interestingly, the owners of the land where Bag End was filmed were thinking about chopping down that tree shortly before PJ and his crew arrived to ask to use the site for the movie.

The tree was saved and now the owners call it 'the money tree'

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Dagster

he he he you may all take a virtual tour while i drive an hour down the road to it and ski down the slopes of mount doom. But apart from that, that photography is extremely well taken and i pretty sure if you go there you can take guided tours of hobbitton.

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http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm27 ... fight2.jpg

Imagine Google Street-view of that while filming was going on....

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Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

Thorgrim the 3rd wrote:

Tell you what, Thorgrim! You go on skiing on your precious mountain. But I’M earning my daily bread & butter in the Crack of Doom! (Now that should have you turning green with envy…)

oh btw, wrong tree...

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Ab hac die aut deserta tene aut in mare demerge

Interesting, just i am not sure about that bus over there!

“Bus? I am no bus. I’m a Hobbus!”

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Ab hac die aut deserta tene aut in mare demerge

A bus in Hobbiton - would that be a mini-bus?

As for the Party Tree, I believe it's the large one close by the northern eastern corner of the lake.

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Dagster

Dagorlad wrote:



If you mean: “by the northern western corner” then yes, you’re right.

In the right corner of the picture, somewhat below the Hobbus, there’s a small canyon visible. This is the ‘gully’ through which Frodo and Gandalf in their cart entered Hobbiton in the FOTR. Strange enough, Gandalf didn’t continue to follow the eastern shore of the lake all the way up to its northern end, where there was also a road running; probably the film crew opted for the gully because of the ‘dramatic’ view on Hobbiton and Bag End.

West of the Party Tree there’s a rough spot in the terrain; a kind of track seems to run around it. This was where Sam went to live with Rosie after their marriage (I’m not sure if this was Bagshot Row, home of Old Gaffer Gamgee).

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Ab hac die aut deserta tene aut in mare demerge