Hobbiton was so cool! And so pretty! We set off early from Waitomo to avoid the crowds but even by the time we got there, there was already a lot of people. Mainly from the big tour buses. It was a bit of a shame as it did kind of ruin the image but that can't be helped. Our tour guide Belinda was very energetic which was good and gave some details into the filming and how Hobbiton was created etc. But mostly the best bit was wandering around and feeling like you were part of the films. They had created such a wonderful set and you almost felt like it was real and hobbits did actually live there! They were very cute and in a way the whole setting reminded me of the proper English countryside. Apparently I took 2 years to make the set and only 12 days to film all that they needed for the Hobbit trilogy. Previously they hadn't made Hobbiton to last and in the original agreement the producers had to demolish the set once they were done filming the Lord of the Rings, but due to bad weather they were unable to deconstruct it fully. So in the meantime the family who owned the land started tours, so when they some back to ask to do the Hobbit trilogy the new agreement was that they built the set in strong lasting materials so they could maintain the tourism side of Hobbiton. How odd to think that it could have been destroyed if the weather had been different! At the end of the tour we were able to have a cider in the Green Dragon in Hobbiton which was a perfect end!