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This New Zealand Tour Is the Closest You’ll Get to Being a Real Hobbit

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Forget LARP-ing meetups in the woods and your weekly Dungeon & Dragons campaign: Tourism New Zealand has launched a trip tailored specifically for Lord of the Rings fans so you can experience the country like a true native of Middle-earth.

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In choose-your-own-adventure fashion, participants select one of four experiences: Hobbit, Wizard, Elf, or Dwarf. While elves may spend their days stargazing and exploring the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, Hobbits will get to imbibe some Sobering Thought Ale from the Green Dragon Inn and enjoy some of New Zealand’s best food (but what about second breakfast?).

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If you’re not sure which adventure fits you best, their site offers a quiz to help you decide. Like to partake in merriment? Sounds like you and Peregrin Took are kindred spirits. Does your ideal night involve wandering under the Mount Cook skies at night? You and Gandalf would get along famously. But don’t take our word for it, take the quiz and get your results as told by the trilogy’s director, Peter Jackson himself.

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If you’re especially determined to get to Mordor, luxury travel planning site Zicasso.com has created a 15-day itinerary that takes fans behind the scenes and to filming locations in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring.

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During the tour, adventurers will explore the set of the Shire, take in the natural scenic beauty of the peaks of the Misty Mountains (the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers IRL) from a helicopter, visit the entryway arch to Rivendell outside of Wellington, walk among erupting geysers at Wai-O-Tapu and Waimangu Volcanic Valley, learn how  the film’s costumes and props  actual swords and Mirthril were made, and take a visit to the local silversmith shop, responsible for crafting the ring that ruled them all.

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See what’s included in the luxury tour, and get the full itinerary and pricing details here. As Gandalf would say, “home is now behind you, the world is ahead!” 

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