January 15, 2013 · 5

The Hobbit: discovering New Zealand

It was perhaps the most anticipated film of the year, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, out for only a week and already breaking box-office records. Personally I had been eagerly awaiting it — I loved The Lord of the Rings intensely when it came out, and I knew that this time too Peter Jackson would not disappoint me! I will not recount the film here because I don’t want to spoil the experience for those who have not yet seen it, but I can certainly say that, in my view, it is absolutely marvellous! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first part of the new trilogy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien and is the prequel to The Lord of the Rings; indeed, the book The Hobbit was written chronologically first. This trilogy too was filmed almost entirely in that marvellous country that is New Zealand — capable of making anyone dream, even those who are not fans of the fantasy genre. If The Lord of the Rings already made you want to pack your bags and go in search of those vast green hills, this film will make you want to even more!

Foto di produzione de "Lo Hobbit: Un viaggio inaspettato"

Let us look together at what a possible itinerary might be for discovering New Zealand while reliving the magic of dwarves, elves, wizards and hobbits. The easiest way to begin this tour is to fly into Auckland, New Zealand’s most populous city with over 1.4 million inhabitants, located on the North Island. From there the first stop can only be Hobbiton! The village is genuinely visitable, since the perfectionist director Peter Jackson had it built at Matamata in the Waikato region. You can stroll along the paths trodden by Gandalf the Grey, climb gradually up the hill until you reach Bilbo Baggins’s house, genuinely built in stone and wood, from where his long adventure began.

Foto del set di Lo Hobbit: Un viaggio inaspettato - Nuova Zelanda

What greater joy for a fan of Middle-earth than to feel like a real hobbit while visiting the 37 little round-doored houses, the Party Tree, the double-arch bridge and the Green Dragon Inn?

Nuova Zelanda - flickr.com foto by stormwarning

Matamata lies about 160 km from Auckland, at the foot of a mountain range and surrounded by green hills; the film set has by now become a permanent tourist attraction, and many travel itineraries through New Zealand include this location. Does this next photo remind you of something?

Mount Doom — does that ring a bell? It is none other than the volcano into whose chasm Sauron forged the Ring that Frodo had to cast back in. The real name of Mount Doom is Mount Ngauruhoe and it lies within Tongariro National Park. The park is the fourth oldest in the world and extends for approximately 800 square kilometres in the central zone of the North Island, between Auckland and Wellington, the capital. From the very beginning, tourism services were developed inside the park: ski slopes, hotels, trekking and mountaineering. Long walks could be made to reach Mordor, admiring along the way the marvellous emerald-green lakes coloured by their acidic waters, the mountain ranges and the active volcanoes.

During these walks it is also possible to touch on some of the spots used by Peter Jackson during filming. And since you will be nearly there, the next stop can only be Wellington itself. Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and is home to the studios of Weta: the company that produced all the incredible special effects for both The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. Weta has created a themed park based on The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Chronicles of Narnia called Weta Cave. The park is located on the Miramar Peninsula near the airport, about 20 minutes from Wellington. It is open practically all year round except for Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and 25 April, and — listen to this — admission is absolutely free! Inside you can purchase DVDs, posters, books, jewellery as well as sculptures and other limited-edition products, created by the Weta artists themselves. At this point one simply cannot end the trip without a detour to the Elven Kingdom, to Rivendell. The real inspiration was actually drawn from Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland, a municipality in the Canton of Bern; but many scenes in the films were shot at Kaitoke Regional Park.

Mount Victoria, Nuova Zelanda - flickr.com foto by stormwarning.

The park is about 50 minutes north of Wellington and a variety of activities are possible within it: from simple picnics or barbecues, to horse riding, hiking or cycling, swimming in the river, or even camping. It is freely open to the public from 8 in the morning until sunset.

Travelling in New Zealand is fairly straightforward: it is served by two main airports, Auckland Airport 20 km from the city — which is also the hub of Air New Zealand — and Christchurch Airport on the South Island. Travelling within the country is also very simple and fast, by train, bus or rental car; there are various options for accommodation, including very affordable ones. New Zealand has a climate that makes travel possible virtually all year round; only in the warmer months from November to April is it possible to find greater crowds. At present New Zealand is still a reasonably affordable country for us Europeans, even though in recent years some prices have risen considerably — and the places I have described are only some of the wonders you can admire in New Zealand, which would undoubtedly merit an even more thorough tour. At this point all that remains is to discover your name in the language of the Hobbits or Elves, and set off for Middle-earth!