Visiting the land of hobbits

From the world of hot springs and Maori culture, it's only a short side trip to the land of hobbits.

Drive about an hour northwest from Rotorua to the small town of Matamata and catch a tour of an outdoor set from the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy, shot in New Zealand by director Peter Jackson.

Visitors are taken in a van to a 1,200-acre sheep ranch a few miles out of townto see Hobbiton, the 10-acre shire where Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and all the other hobbits lived.

The area has been returned mostly to its natural condition, but 17 hobbit houses remain from the original 37, including Bag End — Bilbo's house — the only one you can go inside.

Visitors can see the "party tree" and the shire's lake, and illustrated signs depict how certain parts of the shire looked in the movie.

It took almost a year's work to create Hobbiton for the filming — a painstaking process that included bringing in gardeners to plant special grasses, hedges and trees. Three months of shooting started in December 1999.

All this was explained by guide Teresa, whose love of the films came shining through. We were free to run around the site undisturbed, bounding among the hobbit houses and taking in the sweeping views of the green, rolling countryside.

Teresa explained that filming for "The Hobbit," the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings," is likely to start next year, and it's unknown whether Hobbiton will be used for the new movie. If it is, the area will be closed to tourists during the filming.

At the end of the tour, visitors have a close encounter with New Zealand's ubiquitous sheep, with a sheering demonstration in a small farmhouse across the road from the main ranch. Watch a sheep lose its wool in under five minutes, then can feed hungry lambs with milk bottles.