Cosplay Shenanigans: Elvish Invasion!

Apart from friends, feels, and fangirl moments, something else I got from Armageddon Expo was a pass to Hobbiton, thanks to Kayoss Cosplay! This past weekend we finally got to use the pass. Of course, we had to dress up! This did require sewing an elven dress in about a week. Quite a challenge, but I managed to finish it in time, and without rushing - too badly, that is.

We started our journey early (ish) on Sunday morning, hoping to leave plenty of time for nosing around and getting ready when we arrived. The weather was just about perfect, and the roads were uncluttered. Co-pilot Courty handled the tunage (the LOTR soundtracks, naturally).

"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky..."

Our Elven trip wouldn't be complete without home-baked Lembas bread, which indeed filled us up from breakfast to afternoon tea!

It was a straight-forward drive to Matamata, where we pulled up by the information centre (adorably styled like a Hobbit house) and got our bearings. A brochure from the centre contained what appeared to be a good road map with directions to Hobbition itself, so we took that with us.

Something must have been wrong with our Elven compasses (it appears they only know which way to go if it's out to sea) and we missed the turn-off towards Hobbiton! Fortunately we didn't go too far before we realised something was off, and we were soon back on track. Mostly we blame the brochure map, that failed to note things of import like railroad tracks.

As we got closer, the excitement rose higher! Each brown tourist sign branded with "HOBBITON" elicited girlish squeals. How could we help ourselves? 

The road become windier as we drove further and further into nowhere - and almost out of nowhere itself, the Shire's Rest came into view. Trying not to crash the car while screaming and bouncing, I parked up and we checked in to get our tickets. All around, tourists were milling; some were queuing, some were sitting in the few spots of shade, some looked a little bored waiting for their tour slot. On a perfect Shire-sunny day, I guess I shouldn't have expected any different.

Getting changed in the parking lot was...a challenge. But not impossible, with a little Elven magic (read: awkward bouncing and contorting). We attached revealed our ears and did our hair, then set off.

Everyone knows elves like to party

We got a lot of stares, a lot of excited children, and a lot of tourists who were confused out of their minds. It was a one of a kind experience. At one point, a queue formed of people wanting to take photos with us. Many, if not all, thought we were part of the Hobbiton exhibit! Fortunately, our tour time arrived and we hopped on our bus. The driver was ecstatic, as was the tour guide. This was going to be a good day!

The first view of Hobbiton was the Green Dragon. Smoke puffed happily from the chimney, and we could see throngs of people wandering around. It's hard to describe the feeling when you see a landscape you thought was limited to a movie, or your imagination from a book. Hobbiton was perfect.

Cabbage butterflies lazed around the vegetable gardens, the air was thick with the aroma of hundreds of kinds of plants. The detail was astounding - I almost expected Hobbits to start appearing from their houses!

We slowly wended our way up towards Bag End, my eyes trying to absorb everything they could. Tiny Hobbit laundry, sculptures, painted gourds, little benches and seats, stocked pantries through thick glass windows. Everything was carefully prepared and placed. 

Preserving jars of jam - probably made from a real harvest from Hobbiton

We soon arrived at Bag End itself. Bilbo's writing desk was sat by one of the windows, his quills and books just visible through the panes.

No admittance except on party business!

Party crashers don't count!

We came across one of the smaller scale Hobbit holes, which allowed for an excellent photo opportunity. Being tall helps, but standing next to a tiny Hobbit door helps more!

Soon after Bag End was Samwise Gamgee's house, location of one of the more feels-inducing scenes in the movie.

Elves tend to partake in the feels on occasion

Winding through a forested section, we followed the path that led to the Green Dragon, one of the more anticipated locations of the tour.

The atmosphere was spot on. Soft lute music emanated from somewhere (we soon discovered the speakers disguised as rocks), and the lighting was dark and homely, just as it should be. Carved woodwork adorned most surfaces, including an impressive green dragon across the top of the bar. I felt like I was inside a tavern from Skyrim.

The other tour guides and workers were very happy to see us - we even had a posing session with one behind the bar! 

We were all served a chilled cup of Hobbiton's finest brews - a crisp apple cider, and a refreshing ginger beer. It was a little too hot to be sitting by the fire, but we couldn't pass up a good photo op!

We had a scant fifteen minutes in the Green Dragon. It would have been wonderful to properly spend an hour or two over some fine food and drink, but these Elves had overstayed their accommodating Hobbit hosts. It was back to the Shire's Rest, and back to somewhere that wasn't Hobbiton.

The Lembas bread tied us over until 3pm, but it was about time to snack on something un-Elvish, like Coca Cola and fries.

While we might have been a little tired of photos, we weren't sick of Hobbiton. We both bought adorable Green Dragon mugs, and I took home a bottle of their ginger beer to enjoy with it.

It was an unforgettable experience, well worth frantically sewing a dress in a week. Hopefully we'll be back - the Green Dragon could always use some exotic Elven visitors!