Hairy Feet Waitomo - Hobbit Film Location Tour

Suzie was an amazing host from the get go. Her family farm has so many stories and you can tell how proud she is to share her home and property with those who love The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. We were made to feel like old friends the minute we walked in the door. Would absolutely recommend, and wish the best for her going forward!

Less known filming location of The Hobbit location, which makes the tour really a private and personalised experience. Suzie did an excellent job of explaining the making of various scenes and showing us around the amazing farm. Not cheap, but considering the family efforts to make the tour work, really worth the visit.

Well, I honestly can’t say enough positive things about these guys!What I think is important to stress about this place is, although I’d personally consider the tour an absolute bucket list experience for fans of Middle-earth, especially Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, the Denize Bluffs is a must-see destination in itself. The scenery is spectacular, the history of the farm is fascinating, and the natural wonders are boundless. Anyone and everyone can enjoy Hairy Feet Waitomo, whether they’ve seen any of the many productions that have utilised the landscape, have an interest in the unique rock formations and surrounding flora and fauna, or simply curious about the operation of a working farm. Some of my favourite sections of the tour involved actually just listening to our host explain about some of the amazing nature in the area.To begin with, the lovely Suzie was extremely flexible and accommodating when, as suggested on the website, I reached out to enquire about a date we were hoping to visit on that was seemingly not one when they were planning on running a tour. She very kindly agreed to open it up for us on a Saturday morning when we were going to be in the area celebrating a special birthday, and we were even joined by her cousin who was also really friendly! All together there were only five of us guests which was a comfortable number and ideal as opposed to some of the large scale Rings-related tours on offer elsewhere. In fact, it’s my understanding that they only run visits in smaller groups.I won’t spoil any of the surprises of the tour itself (yes, there were some) as they are best discovered first hand, but Suzie shared some exciting recent developments that took place at the location, which as an enormous Tolkien nut, had me loosing my mind. And yes, these guys are huge fans themselves, with an impressive knowledge not only of the behind the scenes of the first Hobbit film that shot there, An Unexpected Journey, that they were present for, but the rest of that wonderful world. We were supplied with several fun props, etc. to assist us in effectively recreating iconic moments from the story, which Suzie orchestrated fantastically. She even had some handy high resolution images from the film to use as reference and help guide you when viewing each destination along the way.Suzie’s husband Warwick was busy throwing together some brand new toilet facilities on site at some point on the route, so that’ll be a great addition to the site for future visitors. Of course anticipate a little bit of light activity when walking around the farm and reaching certain spots, but nothing strenuous and you are driven around sections in a spacious and sturdy van. Worth mentioning that the main office has an extensive array of marvellous pieces of memorabilia and merchandise from the early 2000s when the original movies were coming out that I was obsessed with seeing again.All in all, these guys rock and are the real deal, genuine Kiwi pride on display and a rich passion for what they do. Keep it up, I can’t wait to visit again in the future. A perfect conclusion to a fabulous hobbity birthday weekend!Thanks again, guys.Nick & Holly (UK)December 2022

This is an absolutely stunning property and a fantastic tour. Suzie is so happy to share all of her experiences, from the scouts approaching them when looking for film sites to her interactions with the cast and crew. She has all the screen shots ready to show at the different locations, and you can get your photo taken with 'Sting' in the exact location that Gandalf gave it to Bilbo. There are also places you can sit where actors sat, stand where they stood, or touch props that were accidentally left behind on site! Suzie also took us to a couple of places where the new Rings of Power tv show was filmed.Hairy Feet Tours used to run two tours a day, seven days a week before covid, but right now it's by booking only. I'd love for the word to get back out there about what a great tour this is for LOTR/Hobbit fans. We travelled NZ for six weeks doing LOTR locations and this was probably our favourite guided tour.They also have a great gift shop with really well priced LOTR souvenirs. Highly recommend!

We were enjoyed visit there. Sure beautiful place. We learned so much about behind the scenes" of The Hobbit and process of movie making. The Tour was very well organized and interesting. We did incredible photos. Highly recommend!"

Beautiful scenery and an amazing tour for fans of the films. Words cannot describe how kind and amazing Suzie was on our tour, giving us lots of fun tidbits about her experience with them filming. An absolute must for any lotr fans

Honestly one of the coolest movie set tours for any Tolkien fan around. Had such an amazing experience and loved every single second of this amazing morning! Worth the money big time, the scenery is just breathtaking. What makes it really special are the personal stories of the owners, Warrick and Suzie.

Suzie was so friendly and knew so much about the hobbit film. The land is still a working farm and you can tell that Suzie still wants to keep the land clean and beautiful. Groups are 5 maximum which means a very personal experience. We got to mimic the shots filmed in the same location and the farm land is just breathtaking. One of my favorite experiebces of my North Island trip

The best tour guide I've ever been... Suzie is amazing person, so cheerful, happy to help, share stories from filming or even from chatting with the cast. The farm is like from another world... You are in middle of farm, surrounded by mountains and few steps in different direction and you're in middle of the fantasy forest, few steps from there and you're on the grass field... When someone says New Zealand, this place is what I imagine. It looks beautiful, it looks abandoned and still occupied. The place is peaceful and it just whispers to your soul. I wish I could stay here longer and just walk here for hours... Ohh and did I mention wild goats?It definitely is worth it, even if you're not fan of Hobbit, the scenery is just breathtaking, like Keanu would say.

The scenery is beautiful, Suzie was amazing and the energy she brings to you here is perfect. There's so much to see here and this is a must for any Tolkien fan!This is my wife and I's favorite tour of our entire New Zealand vacation!