Where wasThe Hobbitfilmed?

EXT. HOBBITON MOVIE SET – MATAMATA

Hobbiton Movie Set

as Bag End, the Green Dragon, the unexpected party

The opening of An Unexpected Journey – the dwarves arriving at Bag End, Bilbo running down the lane with his contract – was shot here in 2011 on the set rebuilt in permanent materials for these films. The Green Dragon inn was finished in 2012 and pours the drink at the end of every tour. Since 2023 two furnished hobbit-hole interiors on Bagshot Row can be walked through.

NOTEThis is the Hobbit set, not the Lord of the Rings one – the 2000 set was temporary and came down. If you want the Green Dragon at night, book the Evening Banquet; the day tours give it 15 to 20 minutes.

EXT. DENIZE BLUFFS, PIOPIO – PIOPIO

Denize Bluffs, Piopio

as The Trollshaws and Staddle Farm

The company camps at the ruined Staddle Farm, the trolls make off with the ponies, Gandalf hands Bilbo the sword Sting and Radagast arrives on his rabbit sled – all under the limestone bluffs of the Denize family farm on Mangaotaki Road. The troll campfire and the cave interior were sets in Wellington.

NOTE45 minutes south-west of the Waitomo Caves. If the tour is not running, the caves are the day and the bluffs are a drive-by.

EXT. PELORUS RIVER – PELORUS BRIDGE

Pelorus River

as The barrel escape from Mirkwood

The dwarves ride the barrels down this river in The Desolation of Smaug; the close shots with the cast in barrels on real water were done on the stretch through Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve in December 2011.

NOTEThe river floods after heavy rain. The barrels did not go through the rapids unaided, and neither should you.

EXT. ARATIATIA RAPIDS – TAUPŌ

Aratiatia Rapids

as The end of the barrel ride

The white water at the end of the barrel chase, with the orcs along the banks, was filmed here below the Aratiatia Dam on the Waikato River.

NOTEArrive ten minutes before the release and stay for the whole cycle – the river goes from a trickle to a torrent and back.

EXT. TŪROA, MOUNT RUAPEHU – OHAKUNE

Tūroa, Mount Ruapehu

as The hidden bay below the Lonely Mountain

The rocky slopes and tussock above the Tūroa ski field stood in for the approach to the secret door of Erebor in The Desolation of Smaug; the stone head of Thrór was added afterwards. Filming took a single day to protect the alpine vegetation, and the scaffolding came down straight after.

NOTEMount Ngauruhoe, Mount Doom, is on the far side of the same national park; Tongariro covers both trilogies.

EXT. CANAAN DOWNS, TAKAKA HILL – TAKAKA HILL

Canaan Downs, Takaka Hill

as Riding out of the Shire; the run to Beorn's house

The company rides through the marble outcrops and beech forest of Canaan Downs early in An Unexpected Journey, and runs through the same country with the bear behind them in The Desolation of Smaug. The crew camped on the hill in late 2011.

EXT. EARNSLAW BURN – GLENORCHY

Earnslaw Burn

as The road to Rivendell

The company walks up the glacier-hung valley with waterfalls behind them on the way to Rivendell in An Unexpected Journey. The valley is a dead end under Mount Earnslaw; the shoot went in by helicopter.

NOTEOn foot it is an overnight trip, camping at the forest edge, no phone coverage. The flight is expensive and the only way to see it in a day.

EXT. PARADISE – GLENORCHY

Paradise

as Beorn's house

The exterior of Beorn's house was built on Arcadia Station at Paradise, beyond Glenorchy, for The Desolation of Smaug and removed after the shoot. The same valley was Lothlórien, Isengard and Amon Hen in The Lord of the Rings.

EXT. STRATH TAIERI AND THE ROCK AND PILLAR RANGE – MIDDLEMARCH

Strath Taieri and the Rock and Pillar Range

as The warg chase

The dwarves scatter among the schist tors of the wide Strath Taieri valley with the wargs behind them, and Gandalf finds the crack in the rock that leads down to Rivendell. The crew was flown onto the range by helicopter.

NOTEThe Otago Central Rail Trail ends at Middlemarch – cyclists get the same view for nothing.

EXT. LAKE PUKAKI AND BRAEMAR STATION – TWIZEL

Lake Pukaki and Braemar Station

as The Long Lake and the Lonelands

Lake Pukaki's turquoise water was the Long Lake around Lake-town in The Desolation of Smaug; the town itself was digital plus a wet set in Wellington. Across the lake, the tussock of Braemar Station was the open half of the warg chase in An Unexpected Journey. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields had been fought on a field near Twizel a decade earlier.

NOTELate afternoon from Peters Lookout, with Aoraki at the end of the lake, is the shot. There is parking.

INT. WĒTĀ WORKSHOP AND STONE STREET STUDIOS – WELLINGTON

Wētā Workshop and Stone Street Studios

as Where most of The Hobbit was made

Far more of The Hobbit was shot indoors than The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, Goblin Town, Mirkwood, Erebor and Lake-town were sets at Stone Street Studios in Miramar. Next door, Wētā Workshop made the armour, weapons and prosthetics. The studios are closed to the public; the workshop is not.