Since every one of us here at Middle-earth News is first of all a devoted fan of Tolkien’s marvelous universe, we often dream, with an occasional sigh of longing, of a quiet and benign life together in The Shire. Luckily – although you can’t stay there forever – New Zealand provides us with the ability to visit Hobbiton and to experience the tranquil lifestyle and environment of the hobbits. And just as spring is upon us here in Middle-earth and the trees of Lothlorien are beginning to flourish, so is the good news, mates! Another location of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has opened up its gates to curious visiting eyes and hairy feet.
Among the multitude of locations in New Zealand that take you directly from the movie to a real-life experience of Middle-earth, yet another portal has been added. You may remember the intense moment of the warg assault while Bilbo and the company were observing a rather intriguing talk between Gandalf and Radagast the Brown. Or the moment Gandalf himself parted ways with our merry company, leaving them to a dreadful experience of troll hostility. In the background of each one of these scenes a magical view spreads from the shoulders of the mountains: tiny silver threads of streams, gigantic jagged pillars, eternal greenery of ancient trees, and the footprints of a dozen or so heavily laden ponies. This is the natural beauty of New Zealand’s PioPio Farm.
It’s a small wonder indeed that this farm was destined to be favored by Peter Jackson’s creative eye! We had the chance to talk to a lovely owner of this particular location, Suzie Denize.
Are you a fan of Tolkien yourself? If so, what work of his do you fancy most?
I have read The Hobbit to our children a few times when they were little and we’d all enjoy it but I’d never open The Lord of the Rings or other works of Tolkien. However this changed when I first saw the movie The Fellowship of the Ring. After that I was hooked. I’ve since read The Lord Of The Rings and I think that’s my favourite so far. I’ve tried to read everything I can find, from encyclopaedia-type Tolkien publications to Hobbit companion books to movie guide books, just so I can try and understand a little better the world Tolkien created.
What do you think it was that Peter Jackson saw in this particular location that made it special enough to last on screen for an entire 20 minutes of the film?
Our farm has a quite dramatic landscape. This particular paddock (field) has limestone cliffs which are 90 metres (270 feet) tall and tower over the site.
There are very unusual rock formations everywhere and the forest is ancient looking, with moss-covered boulders and primeval looking trees covered in vines. It has all this different scenery in the one area and it’s all here naturally. I guess it ticked a lot of boxes for him as the director.
One point of interest is that this location received the most screen time in the movie!
Have you any idea whether this particular location will be featured in the third film?
Unfortunately I couldn’t tell you even if I knew! We’re hoping we will be in it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
What is your favorite scene in The Hobbit films thus far?
I have two actually, both from An Unexpected Journey.
Where Gandalf gives Sting to Bilbo for the first time, at the entrance of the trolls cave. (Which is actually filmed right here on our property and visitors get to stand in the exact spot Bilbo first receives Sting!) I love the line Gandalf delivers here. “True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.”
Suzie Denize channeling Bilbo at Piopio.
This has real consequences later on for Bilbo and that’s my second favourite scene.
Later, in the goblin tunnels, when Bilbo is trying to escape, he has the ring on so Gollum doesn’t see him coming up behind him. Bilbo considers killing him with Sting but can’t. He can see Gollum is anxious, bewildered and extremely vulnerable. He shows real compassion by not ending Gollum’s life here. I love the facial expressions that Andy Serkis brings to Gollum during that scene. Beautiful.
Was the full cast there at your location during filming? What was it like having wizards, hobbits, and cameras floating about your property?
We had everyone relating to the Trollshaws Forest scene. In other words the 13 main dwarf actors, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Sylvester McCoy. As well as the main actors, we had their doubles and the scale doubles here. About 500 cast and crew.
Meeting the heavily made-up actors was weird. We couldn’t tell where the real person began and the prosthetics started!
John Callen, who plays Oin, was very generous with his time. He talked to our teenage boys and us about acting. We got to see him getting made-up one morning (at about 6am) along with Graham McTavish (Dwalin) and Kili (Aidan Turner). What an incredible job the makeup artists do. Very skilled and extremely detailed work. Wow!
We also got to know Jed Brophy (Nori) quite well and coming from a farming background himself, we had lots in common. He enjoys horse riding too, which is a hobby of mine, and so we had plenty to talk about.
We were invited to have meals in the catering marquee with everyone – so we did! Breakfast, lunch and dinner and the cooks were excellent. Our sons got to take morning and afternoon tea platters around to all the crew and were happily absorbed into this large working family.
Watch out for wargs, Warrick!
We’d had the 3 Foot 7 Art Department here for about six weeks prior to filming. (They made ‘Staddle Farmhouse’ which was an old derelict farmhouse set). There were all sorts of fascinating creative people from builders, and sculptors to gardeners. They were a diverse bunch and we had lots of interesting discussions during coffee breaks. If the weather was cold and wet I’d occasionally take them hot savouries to help warm them up.
Basically our family got to know a large number of the cast and crew quite well during this period and we thoroughly enjoyed having them come to our farm.
Were you able to view the filming in progress? If so, what did you think of Jackson and his ability to manage such a massive undertaking?
We did manage to see some of the filming action. It was very impressive and hugely complicated. With the main actors playing the roles of smaller people, scale was a constant issue. Then there was the added challenge of continuity of each scene, even if the filming was months apart. Also, some scenes had digital creatures or characters added later, so the actors often needed to react to things that weren’t even there. Rather tricky all round.
Peter Jackson is an extremely talented person with an endless imagination, wonderful creativity and a super group of the same sort of people around him. I don’t know how he manages it, but he does!
How overwhelming did it get after fans found out your location was open to visitors?
We’re coping well and as yet haven’t needed to hide our faces in public!
Are there any especially bright memories about this unexpected journey that you would like to re-live once again?
Our family went to the premiere of An Unexpected Journey in Wellington in 2012, to be part of the crowd. There was a 500 metre long red carpet, complete with the three stone trolls, hobbit holes, elvish statues and lots of props from The Shire.
We proudly waved our Piopio sign, which is the little village we come from. It was amazing to see how many of the red-carpet-walkers remembered us and called out hello.
The whole premiere had a fabulous, friendly atmosphere and was wonderful to experience.
What do you hope your visitors will take away from the tour?
There is something here for everyone, whether they’re a Tolkien fan or not.
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They can stand in the actors footsteps,
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hear the behind-the-scenes stories,
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learn about the massive effort it took to bring the 500-strong film cast and crew to this location,
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find out about farming on a working New Zealand sheep and cattle farm,
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enjoy the natural beauty of native New Zealand forest,
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wonder at the dramatic cliff & rock formations,
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or just take a moment and breathe deep.
This place is special, even before filming was done here. There is something magical and ancient about the area. We love our farm and love sharing it with others.
We hope visitors enjoy themselves.
Suzie & Warrick
Owners/guides
Hairy Feet Waitomo
Scenic Film Location Tour
