Hobbiton

Beautiful Bag End

| cjlevinson

Bag End.jpg

In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a Hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. ~ JRR Tolkien, The Hobbit

It’s been a year this week since I went to New Zealand and I’ve been going back through some of the photos I took during the trip recently. I found this one today from Hobbiton which I’d always liked but had never really done much with. 

It’s of Bag End, the set of the Hobbit-hole home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films. 

Hobbiton is an incredible location and Bag End is definitely one of the highlights. It really is as beautiful as it looks in the films; even more so actually as you can see all of the details that just pass too quickly on screen to take in.

If you ever get the chance to go I’d highly recommend it. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Photo © CJ Levinson 2015

Looking Towards Bag End

| cjlevinson

Looking Towards Bag End

Peace:
The sound of birds chirping
Children laughing
And the wind in the trees

I spent some time today going back through some of the photos I took in New Zealand earlier this year. I’ve been meaning to for a while as I took a lot of photos over there but the thought of going through a couple of thousand photos has just been a bit too daunting.

It’s been a slow day today though and so I thought I’d get started. I found this one which I really like and did a quick edit. It’s from inside Hobbiton, looking towards Bag End, Bilbo and Frodo’s home in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

I really like the scale of the photo; it gives you a sense of just how big Hobbiton actually is and the light is lovely too. It was a beautiful day and I’m glad it captured it well.

I’ll post some more photos as I go through them. Hopefully there should be some good ones.

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2015

The Bumblebee

| cjlevinson

Bumblebee in Hobbiton

Oh to be
Like a small bumblebee;
How different
The world must seem

I took this while we were in Hobbiton. It was a beautiful day and with all of the flowers blossoming there were lots of bumblebees buzzing around and I managed to snap this just as this bee paused and looked up.

It was mostly luck and timing but I’m happy with how it came out. I didn’t get stung either which was nice too. 😉

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2015

Welcome to Hobbiton

| cjlevinson

Welcome to Hobbiton

To live simply
And eat and laugh
With friends –
A hobbit’s life is for me

We visited Hobbiton, near Matamata while we were in New Zealand. It’s the movie set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and has been carefully maintained since filming ended on The Hobbit films. It’s a beautiful spot and walking around it is quite remarkable… there are 39 Hobbit holes complete with beautiful gardens and The Green Dragon has been maintained as a fully functioning tavern.

The detail as you walk around is extraordinary and it’s just like it appears in the films, with barely a detailing having been changed. In many ways it’s even better than in the films as so much appears on screen so quickly and walking around Hobbiton, it’s amazing seeing how much was actually created for the films that you’d just never take in otherwise.

It’s well worth a visit if you’re ever on the North Island. Even if you’re not a fan it’s like visiting a beautiful park. I’m very glad we went, it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

Photo and haiqua © CJ Levinson 2015