在新西兰，追随霍比特人的足迹

by Rebecca Nicholson

There are three popular stories about The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.

The first is the tale of a wealthy 1）Tolkien fan from the U.S.， who asked the makers of the movies One Ring to come up with a costly gold 2）replica， then hired a helicopter to fly him over Mount Doom， where he threw it into the flaming inferno. At least， thats how they tell it in Wellington. In Nelson， its a woman， a spurned lover， who threw her One Ring wedding band into the mouth of the volcano. Then theres the story of the six-foot-three German tourist who arrived at Hobbiton dressed as， well， a very tall hobbit， who felt so at home in one of the hobbit holes there that he squashed himself in and refused to leave for 12 hours. In Auckland， theyll tell you he was Belgian.

The Lord of the Rings has been big business in New Zealand ever since Wellington-born director Peter Jackson decided to film his 3）trilogy here， back in the late 1990s. Now， with the release of The Hobbit： An Unexpected Journey—the first 4）installment in the new movie trilogy spun from the far shorter book—theres another opportunity to attract Tolkien devotees.

The biggest name in the game right now is Hobbiton， a sheep farm that doubled as the Shire for both trilogies. Its about two hours drive from Auckland， near Matamata； stop at any of the creaking small-town cafes along the way（“Collect your Hot Mail here！” reads the proud sign on one） and youll bump into a minibus full of 5）pilgrims on the same journey.

Jacksons location scouts saw potential in Alexander Farms rolling green hills， lake， and， crucially， large pines—one of which would eventually become Bilbos party tree. After filming was completed in 2004， the set was 6）dismantled， before anyone realised that a massive opportunity had been missed. When it was rebuilt for The Hobbit， the farm fought to keep its hobbit holes.

The post-LOTR hobbit holes resembled a 7）Changing Rooms project gone bad， with plain 8）MDF facades fronting holes to nowhere， and though those early visitors may have been disappointed， they did get the option of feeding lambs at the end of the tour， a tradition that still stands today. Sure， you could survey a bit of grass where Elijah Wood once placed his hairy 9）prosthetic feet， but in its original 10）incarnation， these moments required Tolkien-esque powers of imagination.

Now its a far slicker operation， though it is a peculiar feeling flying 26 hours only to find yourself somewhere that was chosen for its resemblance to 11）Malvern Hills. Then theres the fact that the 37 hobbit holes vary greatly in size to accommodate the different heights of the actors playing hobbits and 12）dwarves at any one time. Oh， and that oak tree that sits majestically above Bag End？ Its plastic leaves， imported from Taiwan， blow off in the wind， and have to be replaced every year or so because visitors keep pinching them as souvenirs.

So while it may feel like youre taking a gentle stroll around a lusciously green film set， it can be quietly disorientating. Avoid going the day after you land， lest any remaining 13）jet lag tip you over the edge. Perhaps thats what happened to the giant German/Belgian hobbit who claimed he had found his home here.

Hobbiton may be the main event for now， but Wellington， on the southern tip of the North Island， is about to take over， renaming itself “The Middle of Middle Earth” just in time for the world premiere of The Hobbit， back in September. We spent an afternoon on a Lord of the Rings Movie Tours minibus， along with some hardcore Tolkien fans， who made Hobbitons gentle visitors look like pathetic amateurs.

Our Movie Tours guide， Alice， brought along a laptop， so we could view clips while standing on the very spot in which they were filmed. She also had 14）props， as I proudly reenacted a Sam and Frodo breakfast， complete with pipe and replica frying pan. I asked Alice if shed been a fan of the movies before she took the job. “I wasnt，” she admitted. “I know everything about them now， though.”

This seems to be how it is in New Zealand. Everyone has taken up their Hobbity associations with enthusiasm， from the two mountains that stood in for Mount Doom—Mount Ngauruhoe and Mount Ruapehu， with additional help from scale models and CGI—to the small familyowned vineyard in Nelson， on the South Island， which won a licence to stick Middle Earth on the labels of its surprisingly delicious wines.

You can hire a helicopter to fly out over more remote locations， or visit the gold and 15）silversmith who made the One Ring for the movies.

Whats nice about it is that the famous laid-back New Zealand character is in the fabric of everything. It doesnt feel 16）opportune， so much as a country going along with something that happened to come its way. In fact， what may have been our most authentic Hobbit experience wasnt marketed as one at all.

The Waitomo Caves， on the North Island， offer a series of “adventure options” that range from a leisurely underground stroll to look at glowworms to the Haggas Honking Holes challenge. The name refers to a hollow cavity deep underground that “honks” back at you when you put your head into it and shout， but it sounds like something straight out of the Shire.

At no point did I feel more like a 17）plucky hobbit than the moment I emerged into the sunlight after two hours of abseiling into underground caverns， crawling through freezing streams on my belly and squashing myself through inhuman gaps in the walls. I realised I would have done well to heed Tolkiens warning in chapter five of The Hobbit： “That， of course， is the dangerous part about caves： you dont know how far they go back， sometimes， or where a passage behind may lead to， or what is waiting for you inside.”

在新西兰，流传着关于《魔戒》的三个故事。

第一个故事说的是一个来自美国的托尔金豪客“粉丝”，他请为电影打造至尊魔戒的珠宝商制作了一枚价值不菲的纯金复制品，然后雇用一架直升飞机把他送到“末日火山”，然后把戒指投进了地狱之火当中。至少，在威灵顿，那里的人是这么说的。在尼尔森，主角换成了一名女子，一个被爱人抛弃的女人，她将那枚结婚“魔戒”扔进了火山口。接着，还有一个故事是说一名身高六尺三（约1.91米）的德国游客，他来到霍比顿，打扮成一个高大的霍比特人模样，他在其中一个霍比洞里感到分外舒坦，于是硬生生挤进洞里，不肯离开，长达12小时。在奥克兰，人们会跟你说，主角是个比利时人。

自从上世纪90年代末，生于威灵顿的导演彼得·杰克逊决定其电影三部曲选址于此进行拍摄，《魔戒》已经成为了新西兰的最大产业。如今，随着电影《霍比特人：意外之旅》的上映——其新电影三部曲中的第一部，整个三部曲改编自一本很短的书——新西兰又可以再次将托尔金的崇拜者吸引过来了。

如今，在这场“竞赛”中，名声最显赫的是霍比顿这一牧羊农场，其在《魔戒》与《霍比特人》这两套三部曲中充当了“夏尔郡”。霍比顿距离奥克兰大概有两小时的车程，在马塔马塔小镇附近；在沿路任一家老旧的小镇咖啡馆里歇脚（其中一家挂着个牌子，自豪地写着“到这儿来收电邮吧！”），你总会碰上一车奔赴同一目的地的“朝圣者”。

杰克逊的外景搜寻团队看到了亚历山大农场的潜力：青葱蜿蜒的山丘、湖泊，而且，至关重要的是，还有高大的松树——其中一棵最后会成为比尔博的宴会树。在2004年《魔戒》拍摄结束后，布景就被拆除了，那时还没有人知道一个巨大的机会就这样失去了。当这个布景因为《霍比特人》而重建时，农场力争将里面的霍比洞保留下来。

那些保留下来的《魔戒》霍比洞给人的感觉像是《交换空间》里那些坑爹的房子，只单单竖着些中密度纤维板立面，后面却没有洞穴存在。然而，尽管那些初期的游客可能会感到失望，但他们确实可以选择在观赏活动结束后喂一下羊，这是一个现时依然保留的传统。当然，你可以搜寻一点伊利亚·伍德那毛茸茸的道具脚曾踩过的青草，但戏中这一切场景时空本来就是需要点托尔金式的想象力的。

如今，这项目经营得更顺利更宏大了，尽管坐了26个小时飞机却发觉自己只是身处某个类似于莫尔文山的地方，那感觉太奇怪了。接着，发现事实是这37个霍比洞大小相差很大，那是为了让饰演霍比特人和矮人的身高参差的演员能随时身处其中。噢，还有那棵庄严屹立于袋底洞上面的橡树呢？它那些塑料树叶是从中国台湾进口的，随风飘落，而且每年都要更换，因为游客总是把树叶摘下来作为纪念品。

虽然你也许觉得自己是在一个青翠欲滴的电影场景中悠然漫步，但实际上会让人走得晕头转向，悄然迷失。在你到达的首日不要出游，以免任何残余的时差反应让你错脚从悬崖坠下。或许，这才是那声称如回故土的德国/比利时“霍比特巨人”的真实遭遇。

霍比顿或许是现在最热门的地方，但位于北岛南端的威灵顿即将取而代之，因为威灵顿及时在去年九月的《霍比特人》全球首映时正名为“中土的中心”。我们在一辆《魔戒》电影观光旅游小巴上坐了一个下午，车上有一些托尔金的“死忠粉丝”，这些人使得霍比顿那些温文的访客看上去像是可怜的业余爱好者。

我们的电影观光导游艾丽丝带上了一部手提电脑，所以在来到某个电影场景的准确拍摄地点时，可以回顾对应的电影片段。她还带了一些小道具，我自豪地用烟斗和煎锅复制品完全重演了一顿山姆和佛罗多的早餐。我问艾丽丝在接下这份工作前是否电影的粉丝。“我不是，”她承认说。“不过，现在关于电影的一切我都很清楚。”

这似乎就是新西兰的现状。每个人都满带热情地展示他们与霍比特人的联系，从那两座“饰演”末日火山的高山——瑙鲁赫伊山和鲁阿佩胡火山，外加成比例模型和电脑特技的辅助——到南岛上的尼尔森那个家族小葡萄园。这个葡萄园还获得了许可得以在其美味得超乎想象的葡萄酒上贴上“中土”的标签。

你可以租一架直升飞机飞到更为偏远的地方，或者参观为电影制作魔戒的金银器制作工场。

旅程美妙的地方在于新西兰出了名的悠闲特质渗透到了所有事物之中。那不像是合时而为，整个国家一向如此，只是恰好遇上某些机遇而已。事实上，那也许是最地道的霍比特体验根本就没被当成亮点来宣传。

怀托摩萤火虫洞位于北岛，提供一系列的“历险选择”，范围包括观看萤火虫的惬意地下漫游，到“哈加斯鸣响洞”的挑战，指的是深入地下的空洞，当你探头大喊，就会听到轰鸣回音，但那听起来却像是直接从夏尔郡之外传来的声音。

我花了两小时沿着绳子滑进地下的山洞，爬行穿越漫过半身的冰冷溪水，并且挤身走过墙上那些不适合人行走的缝隙。当我走出洞外沐浴在阳光之中时，这一刻最让我觉得自己像个勇敢的霍比特人。我领悟到自己如果对托尔金在《霍比特人》的第五章的警告加以注意的话，其实可以干得不赖：“当然，那是洞穴最危险之处：有时候你不知道它们有多深，或是背后的某条通路又会连向何处，里面又有什么样的东西在等着你。”