Start – Hamilton
Finish – Hamilton
Daily Distance – 0km
TA Distance – 800km
Prior to filming “The Lord of The Rings”, location scouts searched for nearly 12 months before settling
on a location for Hobbiton. It’s fair to say they did a pretty fine job. Nestled among the rolling hills of a
sheep farm near Matamata there’s not a building, road or pilon to spoil the scene. In fact, the only blight
on the landscape was the several hundred camera wielding tourists like me. I suppose it’s an inevitable
part of visiting a major tourist attraction, but it somehow seemed intrusive in such a perfect spot in a way
that bustling crowds in a city like London don’t. Still, we did have an engaging and knowledgeable tour
guide who was packed full of interesting facts and anecdotes, which really helped make the tour come to
life. Add in a free cider at the Green Dragon inn (collective shrug from all the Harry Potter fans) and it
was a nice trip out.
Back to the trail tomorrow, which will either be a short day or a long day depending on which camping
spot I end up at. That’s a choice for tomorrow and my sore legs to make though.
Please forgive the poor quality of photos today. It’s a dog eat dog business taking photos at tourist
attractions!
