North Island Hotels & Resorts

Travel south from Auckland to the Waikato region where you will arrive at the Shire's rest to embark on your Hobbiton film set tour. You will see 44 hobbit holes, the Mill and double arch bridge, the party tree and visit the Green Dragon Inn. You can also get a picture taken at Bilbo's front door at Bag End. After the tour your lunch is included at Shire's Rest Cafe before heading back to Auckland.

• Duration: full day
• Start time: 7am
• Departs daily
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

The Hobbiton Movie Set tour is your chance to wander the lush pastures of the Shire, as seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. You’ll journey through the rolling green hills before being guided through the astonishing 12-acre set. From Bag End to the newly completed Hobbit Hole in Bagshot Row, you’ll uncover each and every corner of the Shire, scooping plenty of exclusives and movie magic secrets along the way. The adventure concludes at the famous Green Dragon Inn, where you’ll glug a Hobbit Southfarthing tipple and ‘cheers’ to a day you’ll never forget.

• Duration: 3½ hours
• Start time: 11am
• Departs daily from Matamata i-Site
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

Depart from Wellington and drive through the picturesque Hutt Valley and the Rimutaka Range to Martinborough for this full-day guided tour of the famous wine region. With a wide choice of wineries, there is a selection of award winning wines to sample, including the Pinot Noirs that the region is known for. Stop for lunch at Poppies winery and enjoy a superb platter of local delicacies matched with their fine wines. Continues on to a further 2 or 3 wineries or head to the lovingly restored colonial town of Greytown, where you can browse the main street taking in the craft and antique shops or stop for a coffee, before heading back over the hill to Wellington.

• Duration: full day
• Start time: 9.30am
• Departs daily
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

Learn about Napier’s fascinating heritage during this guided walking tour of the city’s colourful Art Deco Quarter. Depart from Napier’s Art Deco Centre and discover striking examples of the city’s distinctive architecture. Hear stories of the 1931 earthquake that destroyed the city, the people that were affected, and how the city made a remarkable recovery and was rebuilt within two years. The walk is followed by an optional short film screening.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Start time: 10am, 2pm or 4.30pm
• Departs daily
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

Enjoy an evening of cultural discovery and indigenous stories at Rotarua's Mitai Maori Village. The experience starts with a welcoming ceremony and continues with a cultural performance and the chance to watch as Maori warriors paddle a war canoe along the Wai-o-Whiro stream. A generous buffet dinner, packed with regional dishes that have cooked in a traditional hāngī pit is served before you wander through the forest to the site of the old village where you'll learn about the Maori way of life and their history.

• Duration: evening
• Start time: 6pm
• Operates year-round
• Group experience

This guided geothermal bathing experience takes a few hours and follows a clear sequence of thermal environments. You’ll move through each stage with guidance from hosts, but at a relaxed pace that gives you time to settle into the heat, water and steam. You’ll need swimwear, and it’s best to allow enough time on either side so you don’t feel rushed.

You’ll start at Te Iringa, a series of gentle waterfall-style showers. It’s a simple beginning, designed to slow things down and help you arrive properly before moving on. Next, you’ll enter Te Ahi Tupua, the Fire and Ice Caves. You move between warm and cool, wet and dry spaces, choosing how long to stay in each. From there, you head into Te Taiwhanga Mauri, a sequence of five geothermal pools. 

You then reach Te Pae Paru, the geothermal mud lounge. Warm, mineral-rich mud is applied to the skin, drawing on traditions that link wellbeing to Papatūānuku, the earth. The experience finishes at Kohu Wai Ariki, the steam room. You recline on heated stone beds in a mist-filled space, letting the warmth settle before slowly cooling down again. 

• Daily departures 
• Operates year round
• Group experience

Set in the rolling farmland of New Zealand’s Waikato region, about two hours south of Auckland and a short drive from Matamata, this experience combines a guided walk through the Hobbiton Movie Set with a relaxed lunch in the heart of the Shire. You’ll explore the meticulously maintained film set at an easy pace, hear stories from the making of the movies, and then sit down to a generous meal beside the Green Dragon Inn. It’s immersive and designed to be enjoyed even if you’re not a committed Tolkien fan.

You begin with a guided tour of the Hobbiton Movie Set, wandering past round-door hobbit holes, over little bridges and along garden paths that look like someone’s been tending them for years. Your guide shares behind-the-scenes stories from the films while giving you plenty of time to take photos and enjoy the setting.

After the tour, it’s time for lunch at the Party Marquee, set right beside the Green Dragon Inn. From the outside, it looks ready for a celebration, with painted canvas walls, bunting and lanterns adding to the festive feel. Lunch is served buffet-style from a themed table piled with hearty, hobbit-inspired food. It’s generous and unfussy, with plenty of choice and seconds very much encouraged. Seating is shared with others from your tour group, keeping things informal and sociable.

• Duration: 3 hours
• Daily departures
• Operates year round
• Group experience

Wētā Workshop has been creating physical effects, props and creatures for film and TV since the late 1980s, and chances are you’ve already seen their work without realising it. From The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to Avatar and Black Panther Wakanda Forever, this Wellington-based studio has helped bring some of cinema’s biggest worlds to life.

Step behind the scenes at Wētā Workshop’s creative home base and get a close-up look at how things are made. This isn’t about green screens and computers. It’s about sculpting, moulding, painting and problem-solving, the hands-on craft that turns ideas into objects actors can interact with.

Your guide walks you through the workshop’s story, from its early beginnings to the award-winning operation it is today, explaining how different departments work together to create props, costumes and creatures. Along the way, you’ll see and handle pieces from across the workshop, including weapons, armour, prosthetics and detailed models, with the stories behind how they were made.

• Start time: 9am 
• Duration: 1½ hours
• Daily departures
• Operates year round
• Group experience