Attitude's Travel Insider: Wine and dine in New Zealand, 'Hobbit'-style

The final instalment in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth series, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, hit the big screen on Friday (December 12) – and whether or not you’re into the particularly hairy Martin Freeman, fire-breathing dragons and crazy dwarf kings, this is one piece of cinema that will make you want to drop everything and instantly get on a plane straight to the place where the entire movie was shot; the north and south islands of New Zealand.

Basically, New Zealand is just so ruddy beautiful. But it takes a very long and tiring 24 hours to get there. However, take it from one who moans a lot about plane journeys: it’s bloomin’ worth it. Especially once you realise that the countries rolling green hills, vast icy blue lakes and snow-capped mountains get more and more beautiful the further south you go. You can do everything; from bar crawling in Auckland to skiing in Queenstown, or whale watching in Kaikoura to glacier hikes in Franz Josef. And the wine – don’t get me started on the wine (Hawke’s Bay is the place to be for top notch grapes by the way).

If you’re interested in the film locations, you can actually visit Bilbo Baggins’ (and later Frodo’s) actual home, Bag End, at Hobbiton, which is located around the velvety-green hills of Matamata. Other sets were erected around the cities of Wellington and Nelson, where the casts of both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings had some wild nights out (so the stories go) and the picturesque villages of Arrowtown and Queenstown – where the scenery is so stunning, you’ll want to spend your days either sailing on a boat or strolling through what actually is Middle Earth.

Wellington Harbour, North Island

Oh and then, there’s the food. Pacifica in Napier is the place for fresh seafood (crabs, lobster, king prawns – divine) platters. Orlando Bloom (Legolass) swears by the gourmet burgers at Fernburger in Queenstown (the fresh coffee and selection of beers probably helped with the long schedules too). James Nesbitt (Bofur) labelled tiny Cuban bar, Havana, in Wellington his favourite watering hole – while Sir Ian McKellen insists he couldn’t visit the Queenstown without popping in for a fish and chips at Aggy’s Shack. ‘I don’t think I could go to Queenstown without one’ he declared. What an endorsement for Aggy!

Finally, according to the delectable Richard Armitage (who plays Thorin Oakenshield), the best thing about New Zealand is the ‘Pinot Noir’. And frankly, we agree.

Karen is a freelance Travel & Entertainment Editor based in London. She can be found tweeting at @KarenNEdwards and contacted through her personal blog popandprettythings.com

Attitude’s Travel Insider: Wine and dine in New Zealand, ‘Hobbit’-style

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