How to find Hobbit’s Hideaway in Victoria Park, Wellington

Hobbit’s Hideway has to be one of the most accessible The Lord of the Rings movie locations in New Zealand. Located in the middle of New Zealand’s hilly capital, Wellington, the site is – quite literally – a walk in the park to get to.

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That said, it can take some spotting for the less observant visitor. And – more to the point – most travellers seem to miss out on one of the LOTR locations here altogether! Read on so you know how to find it. Victoria Park is home to Frodo and Sam’s rest stop as well – they sit here with a pipe shortly after leaving the Shire.

So in this blog post, I’ll take you on a journey through Victoria Park in Wellington. We’ll hide with the hobbits before sitting in a tree with dear Frodo as we visit this fantastic location featured in the Fellowship of the Ring movie.

Begin your journey in Victoria Park.

This forested park, complete with its steep and winding paths, is popular with local walkers, cyclists, dog owners, and joggers. Don’t miss the Victoria Park lookout while you’re here for great views back over Wellington as well.

Not only does the natural woodland evoke a sense of Tolkien-esque greenery, but Victoria Park was also the perfect choice to film a Middle Earth scene with our beloved hobbits location-wise. It’s just a 13-minute drive from Weta Workshops and Peter Jackson’s office in Miramar. 

On that note, you’ll definitely want to head to Weta Workshops during your stay in Wellington, too, for a tour of the creative workshops!

By the way, if you’re also a LOTR mega fan, I’d recommend reading the official LOTR locations guidebook. This is an absolutely brilliant guide to all the locations in New Zealand with a forward from Peter Jackson!

How to find Hobbit’s Hideway in Victoria Park

Parking: To find Hobbit’s Hideaway, the most convenient place to park is in the conveniently located car park near where Alexandra Road crosses Paterson Street. Just search for ‘LOTR location car park’ on Google Maps.

If you’re travelling by bus, the nearest bus route is about a 10-minute walk away. Take the Number 20 bus from Wellington centre from ‘Courtenay Place – Stop A’ for 15-minutes until you get off at ‘Alexandra Road at SPCA’. Alternatively, the 21 bus route or number 2 bus route also has stops near Victoria Park. Use google maps to find the course most manageable from your location.

Finding the exact location:

Once you’ve reached the LOTR location car park, it’s easy to know you’re in the right place as there’s a map in the car park showing the Hobbit’s Hideaway film location. You’ll want to head right (on the right-hand path from the car park) and follow the path to the woodland.

After just a few minutes of walking straight down the path, you’ll see the Hobbit’s Hideaway location signposted. 

From here, there is a fork in the road. So should you turn left or right?

Take the path on the right (it slopes slightly uphill) to find Hobbit’s Hideaway. On the right-hand side of the track, you’ll see the Samwise bench: ‘If I take one more step, it will be furthest away from home I’ve ever been.’ A few steps onwards, you’ll be standing right on the path on which Frodo shouted ‘Get off the road!’ and where the hobbits hide from the Nazguls in the unnerving The Fellowship of the Ring movie scene. 

Hobbit’s Hideaway

The Hobbit’s Hideaway itself is on the left. There is an earthy ledge with a short but steep slope very recognisable at the side of the path. The hobbits sat against this very ledge while hiding from the Nazguls! Carefully walk down the slope and sit against the ridge to share a space with Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin.

Please note, it does look different to the movie, as the actual tree they hide in was built especially for the film by the experts at Weta Workshop! In reality, the hiding spot looks a little like a muddy ledge. But it’s still recognisable, and it’s easy to imagine the movie set in its original form.

The ‘Get Off The Road’ location

Head back to the top of the ledge and stand on the path. Now you’re standing right in the location where Frodo shouts, ‘Get off the road!’ This one is the most accessible movie location to find in Victoria Park, in my opinion, as the tree is so distinctive. See how the branches all jut out towards the path? Look for this exact tree on the right-hand side of the path, opposite the ledge, and you have yourself in the correct location.

How to find Frodo’s Rest Stop in Victoria Park

Head back to the fork in the road with the Hobbit’s Hideaway sign. Face the separation in the road again but turn left rather than right this time.

Walk slightly around the bend – Frodo’s rest stop will be on the left, just around the corner. To find the location, note that you’ll look at the movie scene from behind. So the tree will look the opposite way round to how it does in the movie.

You can see the tree from the pathway itself!

Look at the photos below to see how the tree looks from the path It’s just on the lefthand side of the track, just after the trail curves around the bend. It’s only a very short walk from the curve in the road.

From here, take the unformed dirt path down to the tree (another short but relatively steep slope). It should be just a few meters away from the path so you shouldn’t have to go far. If you’re taking photos, your friend will have to stand on the other side of the tree from the pathway to replicate the movie scene.

It was pouring down when I visited this LOTR location, but that didn’t stop me from getting in Frodo’s tree and enjoying a little rest in the park! My friend even jumped in a selfie so we could share a little Frodo and Sam moment.

Tours:

While you definitely don’t need a tour guide to find this location, sometimes there’s nothing like getting insight from a local. If you’re not very observant and worry you might find it hard to distinguish the right location, a guide will ensure you don’t miss the Hideaway.

There are various LOTR tours in Wellington, some of which also take visitors to Rivendell. Since there isn’t a bus to some of the locations, this could be an excellent option for non-drivers. That said, these are bumpy forested tracks, not initially intended for tourists, so check with your tour guide about wheelchair accessibility in advance. 

If you’re on a budget, there’s no need to book a tour.

Tips:

Make sure you have screenshots from the movie with you! That will help you recognise the exact spots where the scenes took place.

More The Lord of the Rings locations in Wellington and the North Island

There are some cracking LOTR locations all around Wellington, from Putangirua Pinnacles (Paths of the Dead) to Kaitoke Regional Park (partly used to film Rivendell).

To read more about these locations and more impressive the Lord of the Rings spots to find around the North Island, read my blog post here: The Lord of the Rings Locations in the North Island.

If you’re keen to get a good sense of Mordor on your trip around Middle Earth, read my guide to The Lord of the Rings spots in Tongariro National Park, where we’ll check in with Gollum and find some fantastic viewpoints over Mount Doom itself.

Revisit the magic of Tolkien’s writing and listen to The Lord of the Rings on Audible,
narrated by Andy Serkis, who played Gollum. Yep, this is what I did too!
If you’ve not already jumped aboard the Audible train,
get a 30-day free trial for Audible and one free Audiobook here.