One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
The Lord of the Rings still manages to transport me to an ancient mythical land, replete with magical creatures, primeval woodlands, medieval villages, rustic landscapes and people with character. As much as I wanted such a place to be real, Middle Earth was far away, nothing but a figment of fiction that we create in our minds.
And that was why when I journeyed to Hobbiton, the movie-set-turned-tourist-attraction in Matamata in the North Island of New Zealand, I felt that figment of fiction had been partially realized. The village of Shire was just as one imagine, with circular hobbit holes adorned with beautiful flowering plants set up on the slopes of the rolling hillscape. I almost felt I could enter into Bag End and find Bilbo Baggins going on about his daily routine.
Here is one rendition of Shire on a rather cloudy day. The (fake) oak tree above Bag End formed an imposing backdrop to this impressive testament to set of Hobbiton and Lord of the Rings.
Hobbiton
Waikato, New Zealand