Middle Earth Experience - Hobbiton Movie Set Tour & Glowworm Cave

Experience the real Middle-earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set, featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. Travel in style from Auckland to Hobbiton Movie Set - set on rolling farmland, this is the world famous movie set where you'll see the intricately created 'Hobbit holes' the Green Dragon Inn, the Party Tree and so much more cinematic magic! Immerse yourself in the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of the Shire as featured in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

​Leaving Auckland through the rolling hills of the Waikato region and beautiful farming towns along the way, you'll experience beautiful countryside in luxurious coach comfort. Located 10 minutes away from the bustling Matamata Township the Shires Rest sits among the hills on a private working farm awaiting our arrival. Your guided tour starts with a drive through our picturesque 1,250 acre sheep farm with spectacular views across to the Kaimai Ranges.

Walk into the real-world landscape of Middle Earth on a walking tour of the Hobbiton™ Movie Set, where you get a behind-the-scenes look at ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit.’ Pause at the Green Dragon™ Inn to for a draft of Hobbit™ Southfarthing™, see the remarkable detailing that brought Hobbiton™ to life on screen, and visit the places where key scenes were created. Take a look at Bag End, where Frodo and Bilbo’s adventures began. Get lost among the hobbit holes and visit the Green Dragon Inn, the mill and the Party Tree. Listen to spell-binding tales of how Hobbiton came to be.

Fall in love with the Alexander family sheep farm, just as acclaimed director Sir Peter Jackson did, as you journey through the unequivocal beauty of the land, with the mighty Kaimai Ranges towering in the distance. Your guide will escort you around the set, showing the intricate detailing, pointing out the most famous locations and explaining how the movie magic was made.

After returning to Matamata, re-join the luxury coach and be amazed by thousands of magical glowworms above as you glide silently by boat in the world famous Waitomo Glowworm Caves The enchanting Waitomo Caves have been attracting visitors for more than 120 years, thanks to their incredible limestone formations and luminescent glowworms. The subterranean cave system is located beneath the rolling green countryside of the Waikato, one of New Zealand’s prime farming regions. Your guided Waitomo Caves tour will be an unforgettable sightseeing experience as you walk through majestic caverns, explore limestone shafts, marvel at the stalactites and stalagmites and enjoy a boat ride through a grotto lit by thousands of tiny native glowworms.

Glowworm caves in New Zealand offer visitors the chance to explore dark caves that are lit up by thousands of tiny glowworms (scientifically known as Arachnocampa Luminosa) who shine bright as a way to attract their prey. This natural phenomenon is special, and besides one location in Australia, New Zealand is the only place in the world where glowworm caves exist!