Sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, the quiet hobbit Bilbo Baggins leaves home with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to win back their mountain from the dragon Smaug. On the way he finds a magic ring. Peter Jackson's three films (2012 to 2014) were shot in New Zealand.
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The Hobbit tells the adventure of Bilbo Baggins, sixty years before The Lord of the Rings. The three films were shot in New Zealand, and some places appear in both sagas. Start at the Hobbiton Movie Set: it was rebuilt for these films, and on a guided tour you walk up to Bilbo's round green door.
On the North Island, the Mangaotaki Rocks near Piopio are where Bilbo gets his small sword Sting, and the slopes of Tūroa on Mount Ruapehu hide the secret door of the Lonely Mountain. In Wellington, the Wētā Cave shows props made for the films. On the South Island, the Pelorus River is the river of the barrel escape, and the valley of Paradise near Glenorchy is the land of Beorn, the man who turns into a bear.
Check before you go: Hobbiton and the Mangaotaki Rocks are on private farms and open only on a tour, and Earnslaw Burn is a long mountain walk. You need a car to move between places.
12 places from the story: filming locations and other places linked to it.
Showing 4 of 12
Bilbo Baggins's village: the dwarves knock at his round green door one by one, eat all his food, and the next morning he runs off on the adventure. The village was rebuilt for these films to last and is now open to visitors.
Access · Private farm: entry only with a guided tour, booked ahead on the official Hobbiton site.
The Trollshaws: the dwarves find a burnt farm, Gandalf gives Bilbo the small sword Sting, the wizard Radagast arrives on a sled pulled by rabbits, and orcs on wolves attack.
Access · Private farm: you can only visit on the Hairy Feet Waitomo tour (1411 Mangaotaki Road, booking required). On 17 October 2026 the operator's website showed two different things: a notice saying the business is paused for now, and a bookings page with tour times and prices that run into 2027. So we can't say for sure whether tours are running. Book and get the operator to confirm your visit (info@hairyfeetwaitomo.co.nz) before you plan the trip, and don't go to the farm without that confirmation.
The bare volcanic slopes became Hidden Bay, the ledge where the dwarves find the secret door into the Lonely Mountain.
Access · Public road to a ski area: snow in winter, walking in summer.
Not a film location: this is the workshop that made the armour, weapons, creatures and models for all six films. The Wētā Cave shop shows props and runs short tours of the workshop.
Access · Shop free; workshop tours are paid and best booked ahead.
The dwarves escape from the elves inside wine barrels down this clear green river, with orcs chasing them along the banks.
Access · Public reserve: easy walks along the river; guided kayak trips on the water.
On a hill here stood Beorn's house, the home of a man who can turn into a bear and who shelters the dwarves. The house is gone and the hill is private, but the valley looks the same from the road.
Access · Public gravel road; the hill is private land and cannot be visited.
After leaving Rivendell, the company walks under a wall of glacier waterfalls on its way to the Misty Mountains.
Access · Advanced track for experienced trampers only: 4 to 6 hours each way to the viewpoint at the bush edge, poorly marked, with slips and no phone coverage. Check the DOC alerts and the weather. Helicopter trips from Queenstown land near the glacier.
The open land around this turquoise lake, on the Braemar sheep farm, was used for the chase by orcs on wolves and the ride toward Rivendell. For The Desolation of Smaug, Lake-town, the town of wooden houses on the water, was built as an outdoor set at Tasman Downs, a farm on the shore of the lake.
Access · Public lakeside and lookouts; the Braemar farm is private.
The high snowy ridges of the wild country the company crosses, with the great eagles flying over them.
Access · Private ski area: the lifts run only in the winter season, and the gravel access road can be closed. Check the official Cardrona Treble Cone site for your date.
The rocky hills of this high valley were used for the chase in which orcs riding wargs (giant wolves) hunt the Company, the hobbit Bilbo, the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves, across open country. The crew filmed here for about two weeks on private farmland, but the same hills and their rock outcrops can be seen from the public road.
Access · Filming took place on private farmland: don't enter the fields. Look from the public roads around Middlemarch.
After leaving Rivendell, the Company (Bilbo the hobbit, the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves) walks through wild valleys toward the Misty Mountains. These shots were filmed along the Pass Burn, a mountain stream between Mavora Lakes and the Greenstone valley.
Access · Public tramping route: the Pass Burn is on the Mavora Walkway, part of the Te Araroa trail, about 50 km and usually 4 days from Mavora Lakes to the Greenstone road end. For experienced trampers only, with no phone coverage: check the DOC alerts and the weather.
This very tall waterfall can be seen in the background as the giant eagles carry Bilbo, Gandalf and the dwarves away from the orcs. The shots were filmed from the air over Fiordland.
Access · No road: the falls are a 90-minute return side trip from Quintin Public Shelter on the Milford Track, a multi-day Great Walk that must be booked ahead in season. Scenic flights over Fiordland also pass the area. Check before you go.
Only with a guided tour, booked ahead.
The Hobbiton Movie Set is on a private farm near Matamata.
Yes.
The shop at Wētā Cave in Wellington is free; the workshop tours are paid and best booked ahead.
Not by road: Sutherland Falls are a 90-minute return side trip from the Milford Track, which must be booked in season, or you see them from a scenic flight over Fiordland.
Only on a guided tour.
Mangaotaki Rocks are on a private farm open only with the Hairy Feet tour; in October 2026 its website also said the business was paused, so check before you go.
Tap a number to see the place and get directions in Maps.
Here the places are spread across towns and countryside: the plan assumes a car, with driving times between stops.
Some days have long drives (up to 4 h). With more nights, the plan gives each long drive a day of its own.
Not in this plan, too far from the rest of the trip (it needs more nights or a trip of its own): Wētā Cave.
London → the North Island
After the long flight the plan leaves about 2 h 30 min to rest before the day begins.
Tickets in the travel card belowLeave Auckland at 11:20 · about 3 h 10 min by car
Driving route in Maps →Walk ~5 min
An Unexpected Journey (Bag End and the dwarves' dinner); The Battle of the Five Armies (Bilbo comes home)
Visit: about 2 h 30 minticket needed
Drive ~21 min
Night in Matamata
Leave Matamata at 08:35 · about 3 h 40 min by car
Driving route in Maps →Drive ~33 min
The Desolation of Smaug (the secret door)
Drive ~25 min
Drive ~41 min
Night in Ohakune
Leave Ohakune at 08:43 · about 4 h by car
Driving route in Maps →Drive ~18 min
Night in Matamata
Return day: about 3 h 15 min by car back to Auckland.
Driving route in Maps →The return day is a travel day: about 3 h 15 min by car from Matamata to the airport.
Estimated return 17:30 · add yours in Trip preferences
Tickets in the travel card belowYour trip on the map
Open a day to see only its stops, in order.
Not in this plan, too far from the rest of the trip (it needs more nights or a trip of its own): Wētā Cave.
Mangaotaki Rocks (Piopio): special visit only. Its page says how. To add it, ask Roseo AI.
We have no average hotel price for the North Island: the total counts only meals there.
Lunches and dinners2 people€330
Not includedFlightsTrainsTicketsLocal transport
An estimate, not a quote
Near the story
Hotels and apartments shown only within budget.
Night 1 · Matamata
Night 2 · Ohakune
Night 3 · Matamata
3 nights · 2 people
Hotels along the story's route.
The days are far apart: sleep near where each day ends, one hotel per area.
Opens in a new tab: your plan stays here.
Collecting airline miles? Filter by airline in the results.
Experience of the story · GetYourGuide
Restaurants and activities near the story's places.
the North Island
The Hobbit: a tour linked to the story
On GetYourGuide. Check what is included before you book →
Hobbiton Movie Set: tickets and tours on GetYourGuide
Offers start from different places: before you book, check where it leaves from, how long it takes and what's included →
Wellington: all activities on GetYourGuide
The link opens the destination's catalogue, not a tour made for the story →
Production · film commissions · tourist boards · guides
We always say if it is:
Production · film commissions · tourist boards · guides
We always say if it is:
