About two years ago The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey filmed for a week in Piopio, taking over a local family farm up the Mangaotaki River Valley from Struan Farm and along with that the entire village.
Scenes shot on this location feature in the Trollshaws Forest, where Gandalf and this party battle the trolls and Bilbo pulls "Sting" from its sheath, amongst other things.
So it's very exciting to hear that the Denize family are opening a tourism venture on their farm this late spring/summer called "Hairy Feet Waitomo," offering organized tours over the property and specific filming locations.
Details to follow, but Struan Farm is just down the river and not far by car! If you're going to Hobbiton in Matamata, best not to miss Piopio either.....
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