One of the things on our must do list in New Zealand was to visit Hobbiton! And this was the first activity on offer in Rotorua, so when we arrived we had to rush to our hostel to drop our bags, then set off in another bus cameras at the ready to Hobbiton! Out of our group of friends on the bus, it was only Day, Tim, Leo and I who were actually interested in going, but we were all pretty excited about seeing it! As we appraoched Hobbiton, Uncle Ben (the bus driver) gave us a bit of background as to how this place was chosen for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. A farmer who owned the land was minding his own business when Peter Jackson decided his farm would be the perfect place to build Hobbiton after touring round NZ in his helicopter to find the ideal spot. Reams of confidentiality forms later, they started building. The NZ army were actually called in to build a road through the farm! As we drove into the farm land, it became clear why they had picked it, with gorgeous fields spanning as far as the eye could see, it was completely stunning! We had a tour guide to take us around, but once we were there the urge to go off and take a million and one pictures was just too much. We walked through the path that Gandalf rode in on his horse and cart, strolled around the Shire, hung out outside Bilbo's house, sat on a seesaw by the party tree, walked over the bridge by the windmill and had a beer in the green dragon! The whole experience was surreal and amazing!! Katie Loftus, you should have been there!