Today we visited Hobbiton, and this trip has definitely been my favorite by far. The set is an area of about 12 acres in the middle of a 1,250 acre working beef and sheep farm. New Zealand is experiencing a drought right now, so the massive hills and fields were all brown and dead, but it was still so beautiful there. This movie set only makes up 1% of the farm surrounding it, and was part of the reason this location was chosen (complete seclusion). Another reason this set was chosen was because of the massive tree in the middle of the Shire and because there was already a lake in perfect position. I also learned that the tree above Bilbo Baggins' house was completely manmade, and that all 200,000 of the leaves were hand-painted and carefully placed into position. There was so much the tour guide knew about the production and filming of the movies in both trilogies that it made the tour super fun and interesting. Not to mention its so easy to appreciate all the little details put into the set, as well as the views around it.