New Zealand’s Hobbit Trail
新西兰“霍比屯”之旅

THE hill is perfect — steep, shaggy and as green as a radioactive shamrock, like the matching hills around it. The sheep seem pretty idyllic themselves: polite little nibblers who only sometimes block the road.

跟周围的群山一样，这座山也十分完美——陡峭、植物丛生、像放射状的三叶草那样绿。绵羊本身似乎就带有田园诗一般的情调：它们彬彬有礼地小口啃咬着植物，有些时候会把路给堵住。

As for the oak tree on the hill’s crest, it is quite literally perfect. Every flickering leaf was handcrafted, right down to the spidery plastic veins, a tribute to the meticulousness of Sir Peter Jackson, the movie director who staged this place, even creating the pond. (Where better for Paradise Geese to land?)

至于山顶上的橡树，它们是真的完美无暇。每一片闪烁的树叶都由手工制作，上面有蜘蛛网一般的塑料叶脉，体现了电影导演彼得·杰克逊爵士(Sir Peter Jackson)的严谨作风。这个地方是杰克逊一手规划的，他甚至还修建了池塘（还有比这更好的天堂鹅[Paradise Geese]着陆点吗）。

You are standing in Hobbiton, the place where J. R. R. Tolkien’s furry-footed Hobbits came to life in Mr. Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and will soon reappear in his “Hobbit” prequels. The sky is dramatic, with sunbeams radiating like spotlights from behind thunderheads. You are woozy from the two-hour car ride from Auckland on a twisting two-lane road (nonstop chatter from Mr. and Mrs. Fanny Pack standing next to you doesn’t help), but a few deep gulps of the agrarian air is restorative. And no matter how stubborn, cynical or reluctant you may be (we were all three), this place is most likely casting its spell.

这里是霍比屯(Hobbiton)，J·R·R·托尔金(J. R. R. Tolkien)小说中那些有着毛茸茸双脚的霍比特人居住的地方，它曾出现在杰克逊《指环王》(Lord of the Rings)三部曲中，并将再次出现在其前传《霍比特人》(Hobbit)系列里。这里的天空美得惊人，阳光像聚光灯一样从积雨云后面照射下来。从奥克兰出发，在曲折的双车道公路上行驶两个小时会让你变得头昏眼花（而且还有一对戴着腰包的夫妇站在你旁边喋喋不休），但深吸几口这里的乡村空气有助于精力恢复。不管你有多么顽固、悲观，或是不情愿（我们三样都占全了），这个地方的魅力都大有可能改变你的看法。
 

从左上沿顺时针方向为：霍比屯、威塔之家、霍比屯礼品店、霍比屯，汤加里罗国家公园、汤加里罗城堡酒店。

For Mr. Jackson, New Zealand and the millions of fans who spent the last decade tromping this island country in search of “Lord of the Rings” filming locations, the journey is about to begin again. In Wellington, over 100,000 onlookers are expected to turn up on Nov. 28 outside the red-carpet premiere of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the first of three “Hobbit” films planned for release by 2014. If all goes according to plan, the pictures will also reopen the floodgates of film tourism here.

对于杰克逊、新西兰，以及过去十年中前往新西兰寻找《指环王》外景地的数百万粉丝而言，旅程将会重新开始。11月28日到惠灵顿参观《霍比特人：意外旅程》(The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)红毯首映式的人数预计超过10万。《霍比特人》三部曲将在2014年之前上映，《意外旅程》是第一部。如果一切按计划进行，这个系列将重新打开新西兰电影观光业的闸门。

Movies — ephemeral, imaginary — have a way of sending fans in search of something real. “The Sound of Music” left such an imprint on Salzburg after filming there in 1964 that tours to see where Julie Andrews played “Do-Re-Mi” on her guitar still attract tens of thousands of visitors annually. In Scotland, tourism skyrocketed at the Wallace Monument following the 1995 release of “Braveheart.” And in Natchitoches, La., devotees continue to spend $175 a night to sleep in the Shelby Room, where Julia Roberts became a star in “Steel Magnolias” some 23 years ago. (Yes, it is pink.)

电影——短暂的、虚构的作品——会促使粉丝去寻找某种真实。1964年的《音乐之声》(The Sound of Music)给萨尔茨堡留下深刻印记，每年有许多游客去那里参观朱莉·安德鲁斯(Julie Andrews)用吉他演奏《哆来咪》(Do-Re-Mi)的地方。在苏格兰，《勇敢的心》(Braveheart)于1995年上映后，参观华莱士纪念碑(Wallace Monument)的旅游者人数暴增。在路易斯安那州，粉丝们仍然会花费175美元去住一晚“谢尔比房间”(Shelby Room)，那是朱莉娅·罗伯茨(Julia Roberts)大约23年前在电影《钢木兰》(Steel Magnolias)中崭露头角的地方（那个房间确实是粉红色的）。

But the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which took in over $3 billion at the global box office between 2001 and 2004, changed the film tourism game entirely. To the surprise of almost everyone, it took possession of an entire country.

但是，《指环王》三部曲不仅在2001年和2004年间获得30多亿美元的全球票房收入，还彻底改变了电影观光业的状况。让几乎所有人都大吃一惊的是，它席卷了整个新西兰。

When New Line Cinema released the first of the movies in December 2001, tourism officials here hoped the film would, at best, move New Zealand up a notch or two on the list of world travel destinations. After all, Mr. Jackson bulldozed half of his Hobbit village when he had finished filming. Who in their right mind would drive hours into the rural countryside to see it to begin with?

2001年12月新线电影公司(New Line Cinema)发行第一部《指环王》时，新西兰旅游局官员对它的希望仅仅是帮助该国在世界旅游目的地排行榜中上升一到两位，毕竟，在电影拍摄完成时，杰克逊已经把霍比特人村庄推平了一半。哪个头脑清醒的人会开几个小时车去乡村野外看它呢？

But people came. Since the first film’s release, about 266,000 people have visited the half-ruined Hobbiton, according to Tourism New Zealand, with a majority from abroad. Over 50,000 people came in 2004 alone, when “Lord of the Rings” fever peaked following the release of the Oscar-winning third installment. In fact 6 percent of all New Zealand visitors that year, or about 150,000 people, listed the movies as a “main” reason for coming; 11,200 said it was their only reason.

但游客们确实来了。新西兰旅游局的资料显示，自《指环王》第一集上映以来，已经有26.6万人参观了半毁损的霍比屯，大多数游客都来自国外。2004年，荣获奥斯卡奖的第三集电影上映后，《指环王》热潮达到巅峰，仅当年就有5万多名游客参观了霍比屯。那年前来新西兰的所有游客中，约6%的人，也就是有15万人说《指环王》是他们来该国观光的“主要”原因，有1.12万人说它是唯一的原因。

New Zealand’s travel and hospitality industries, initially caught off guard, raced to meet demand. In Queenstown on the South Island, where Mr. Jackson filmed numerous mountain scenes, 17 tour companies, many of them popping up overnight, started offering movie-related excursions. Hotels across the country rolled out “Lord of the Rings” promotions and packages, and airport customs officials strung up “Welcome to Middle-earth” banners.

新西兰的旅游和酒店业一开始措手不及，但他们迅速采取行动，满足人们的观光需求。杰克逊曾在南岛皇后镇(Queenstown)拍摄了大量山景，这里有17家旅游公司开始提供和《指环王》相关的短途旅行，其中很多家似乎是在一夜之间冒出来的。新西兰各地的酒店纷纷推出《指环王》促销活动和套餐服务，海关官员也在机场里挂上了“欢迎来到中土世界”的横幅。

The government is hoping that aggressive planning will raise the number of movie-fueled visitors exponentially this time around. Kiwi officials negotiated a deal with New Line to put a travel infomercial on every DVD. In August, the government began a global marketing campaign featuring the slogan “100% Middle-earth, 100% Pure New Zealand.” In all, the country is spending at least $50 million on Hobbit-related tourism promotions, with the biggest attraction remaining this 1,200-acre farm in the slow-moving, once-upon-a-time North Island town of Matamata.

新西兰政府希望，这一次，主动积极的规划将成倍增加电影观光者的人数。政府官员们已经跟新线电影公司达成协议，在每张《霍比特人》DVD上都附加一段旅游推介片。8月，新西兰政府推出了一个全球性的营销活动，口号是“百分之百的中土，百分之百纯粹的新西兰”。合计下来，新西兰在《霍比特人》旅游推广活动上至少投入了 5000万美元，主打景点就是北岛玛塔玛塔镇(Matamata)这片变迁缓慢、童话般的1200英亩农场。

On its Web site, Matamata (pronounced MAW-da MAW-da) is billed as “a rural hinterland.” For the most part, it is exactly that. The town center has about 6,000 inhabitants. Another 6,000 are spread across farms that fall within Matamata’s boundaries. It all sits two hours by car or bus south of Auckland, whether by a relatively direct route that includes State Highway 27 or by a bewildering patchwork preferred by locals who hold to State Highway 1 and its adjuncts. We took the scenic route and drove ourselves, but Auckland’s Red Carpet Tours offers a popular bus service.

玛塔玛塔的网站上说它是“一块乡村腹地”。在大多数情况下，这个说法都很准确。镇中心大约有6000名居民，另有6000人散居在玛塔玛塔边界内的农场里。从奥克兰向南，无论选择哪条线路，坐2小时的汽车或巴士都可到达玛塔玛塔；比较直的路线会经过27号国道，但一些当地人喜欢走1号国道及其辅路，他们的首选路线相当复杂，令人犯晕。我们选择了风景优美的路线，自己驱车前往玛塔玛塔；不过奥克兰“红地毯之旅”(Red Carpet Tours)公司提供的巴士服务也很受欢迎。

Once you arrive in Matamata you’ll find a few older, no-frills motels and a smattering of bed-and-breakfasts catering to Hobbit visitors, including the new Chestnut Lane Cottage, where the charming owners greeted us with warm scones slathered in orange jam and whipped cream. In terms of restaurants, there is the homey yet stylish Redoubt Bar & Eatery, but this is a fundamentally provincial place. The local newspaper prominently reports soil temperatures, and businesses are practical, like Boltholder Limited, “specialists in bolts and nuts.”

到达玛塔玛塔之后，你会看到几家年头较久、朴实无华的汽车旅馆，和一些招待《霍比特人》观光者的“住宿加早餐”旅舍，其中包括新的栗子巷小屋(Chestnut Lane Cottage)。旅舍老板们招人喜欢，用涂抹了厚厚橘子果酱和鲜奶油的热烤饼欢迎我们。在餐厅方面，城堡酒吧和餐馆(Redoubt Bar & Eatery)让人觉得温馨又时尚，但玛塔玛塔基本上还是一个偏僻之地，当地报纸在显著位置关注的是土壤温度，当地公司开展的主要也是实用业务，比如“五金件专家”Boltholder公司。

Matamata caught its star, just barely, in 1998, when a farmer named Russell Alexander — jovial, bald and blunt — saw a stranger with binoculars peering across his land. Soon that interloper and his bearded boss, Mr. Jackson, returned with a request to build a “Lord of the Rings” movie set there.

幸运星在1998年降临玛塔玛塔，这个机会差点被错过。当时，一个名叫罗素·亚历山大(Russell Alexander)的农民——快乐、秃顶、直率——看到一个携带双筒望远镜的陌生人路过自己的房子。很快，这个闯入者和他的大胡子老板杰克逊一起回来，要求在这里搭建《指环王》的电影外景。

Speaking at his farm in late June, Mr. Alexander recalled his father blurting out: “Lord of the what?” Mr. Alexander said he “kicked him under the table.”

今年6月下旬，亚历山大在他的农场里和我们聊天时，讲起他父亲当年脱口问道：“什么王？”亚历山大说自己“在桌下踢了他一脚”。

What Mr. Jackson and his associates originally built on a hillside and at the bottom of a deep hollow was a wonderland. Through a camera’s lens or to a casual visitor, it looked like a fairy-tale village and a Hobbit’s Shire, with a munchkin-size mill and dozens of brightly painted Hobbit hole homes, each with a circular front door and most with itty-bitty chimneys and the mossy look of someplace you might stop to rest.

在一面山坡上和一条深谷的底部，杰克逊和他的同事们兴建了一处人间仙境。从摄像机的镜头看过去，或是在一般游客的眼中，它就是童话中的村庄，是霍比特人居住的夏尔(Shire)。这里散布着一个矮小的磨坊，以及几十处霍比特人的家宅，每一处都有明亮的颜色和圆形的前门，大多数都有小烟囱和青苔，一看就是驻足休憩的好地方。

But once the movies had been made, what remained was an unlikely destination for tourists. As Mr. Alexander described it, untreated plywood sat warping in the rain. A bridge constructed from polystyrene “rocks” began to collapse. Sheep grazed through a half-bulldozed Shire that was kept somewhat intact only because Mr. Alexander undertook the cost of basic maintenance and repair. “The movie studio actively discouraged me,” he said. Nevertheless, “People just kept coming.”

但在《指环王》拍完之后，这个地方不像是能成为一个景点的样子。正如亚历山大所说的那样，未经处理的胶合板淋雨后卷了起来，聚苯乙烯材质的桥梁“石头”开始瓦解，羊群在半毁损的夏尔吃草，这个地方之所以还能保持相对完好，全靠亚历山大承担起了保养和维修费用。他说：“电影制片厂积极鼓励我这么做。”虽然破损了，到这里来的游客还是“络绎不绝”。

So Mr. Alexander, while continuing to graze 10,000 sheep on the property, started to formalize the business, adding restrooms, building a restaurant and buying modern buses to cart people between those amenities and Mr. Jackson’s set, located down a gravel road in the interior of the farm.

因此，亚历山大一边继续在这里放养10000头绵羊，一边开始正式经营观光业务。他增修了厕所，建起了一家餐厅，还购买了时髦的巴士，以便在这些便利设施和农场碎石小道深处的电影外景地之间运送游客。

Two years ago, when Mr. Jackson returned to Matamata to film his new “Hobbit” prequels, Mr. Alexander persuaded him to kick in a few million dollars to make the restored set permanent. Now a 50-50 venture between the Alexanders and Wingnut Films, which is Mr. Jackson’s production company, Hobbiton recently unveiled the improvements timed to the movie’s release and New Zealand’s summer tourism season, which starts in November. New features include a pub, more Hobbit homes, an electric fence to keep out the sheep and a gift shop offering high-end collectibles (magic cloaks, 900 New Zealand dollars, about $760 at 1.18 New Zealand dollars to the United States dollar).

两年前，当杰克逊回到玛塔玛塔拍摄《霍比特人》前传系列时，亚历山大说服他投入几百万美元，把外景恢复成永久性的。现在霍比屯的资产，亚历山大和杰克逊的制片公司Wingnut Films各占50%。为了迎接《霍比特人》的上映和11月开始的新西兰夏季旅游旺季，霍比屯最近兴建了一些新设施，其中包括一个酒吧，更多的霍比特人家宅，把羊拦在外面的电栅栏，和一个出售高端纪念品的礼品店（魔法斗篷标价900新西兰元，按1美元兑换1.18新西兰元的汇率，相当于760美元）。

But, if a recent visit is any indication, one of Hobbiton’s principal charms remains its lack of polish. Our guide, complete with naturally gnarled teeth and muddy work boots, approached us outside the gift shop (where you buy tour tickets) and herded us into an 11-seat van along with eight other foreign tourists, most of them devouring cookies purchased at Mr. Alexander’s Shire’s Rest cafe. We bumped along, reaching the set after stops to open and close several farm gates. Storm clouds looked ominous, so everyone grabbed an umbrella from a wooden rack and set forth behind our guide, who warned us to “watch out for rabbit holes.”

但是，我们最近一次访问霍比屯的经历显示，缺乏人工雕琢仍然是它的主要魅力之一。我们的导游长着一口坏牙，穿着沾有泥泞的工作靴，在礼品店外跟我们接洽（礼品店出售参观门票），然后赶着我们上了一辆11座的面包车。车上还有其他8个外国游客，其中大部分都在狼吞虎咽从亚历山大的夏尔之憩(Shire’s Rest)咖啡厅购买的饼干。我们一路颠簸，途中为了打开和关闭几个农场大门停下来若干次，然后到达了景区。空中的乌云预示着将会下雨，所以我们每个人都从一个木架子上抓起一把伞，然后跟着导游向前走。他告诫我们“小心不要踩到兔子洞”。

Facts were recited: The tiny houses are sized for Hobbits, presumed to measure about 3 feet 6 inches. Pictures were taken: The 44 Hobbit homes are each equipped with fenced yards and windowsills filled with diminutive knickknacks. Orders were given: Do not open those little round doors. (A tour guide snapped when, inevitably, a member of the group did just that. There’s nothing inside anyway. It’s a film set, after all.)

导游背诵资料说：小房子合适霍比特人的身材，他们的身高应该是是3英尺6英寸。我们拍了照片：44处霍比特人住宅，每处都配备了围栏，窗台上有很多小巧的摆设。导游指示我们：不要打开那些圆圆的小门（有一个游客打开了门，这种事难以避免，但一个导游厉声喝止。房间里面其实没有什么东西，毕竟这是电影外景）。

Wandering freely on the vast set, about 12 acres, is not allowed, but we didn’t feel the slightest bit rushed. Treacle is sparse here, which is part of the allure; there are no costumed Hobbits smiling and waving, Disney style. But we did see crews pruning hedges, expanding a parking lot and building that themed pub, in anticipation of the coming crowds.

景区很大，占地12英亩左右，不允许游客在其间自由漫步，但这没有让我们感到丝毫不快。霍比屯的魅力之一就是不会让人感觉甜得发腻；这里不像迪斯尼乐园，没有工作人员打扮成霍比特人冲我们微笑招手。但我们确实看到有工作人员修剪篱笆，扩建停车场，修建主题酒吧，为将要到来的大群游客做准备。

Near the top of the hill, the fabric leaves of Mr. Jackson’s fake tree fluttered in the breeze, and we gasped at how completely Hobbit Valley enveloped us. While Hobbiton and its sheep farm rival the size of the theme park at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, it is a unique environment — a quiet, spare place where the line between nature and art fades to nothing.

山顶的附近，假树的布叶子在微风中抖动着，霍比特山谷包围着我们，让人惊讶得喘不过气来。虽然霍比屯及其绵羊农场的面积跟洛杉矶环球影业(Universal Studios)主题公园差不多大，但它的环境非常独特——在这个安静清淡的地方，自然和艺术的之间的界限模糊到不复存在。

HOBBITON is just a starting point for serious Tolkien tourists who will need focus, stamina and time to make a dent in the hundreds of miles and some 70 sites (spread across two islands) portrayed in Mr. Jackson’s movies. The locations stretch from Port Waikato at the top of the country’s North Island (used to film the author’s Weathertop fortress ruins) to the bottom of the South Island, a spot where “Hobbit” characters seek refuge with a man who can transform himself into a bear. The distance between those two places is about 1,000 miles, and attempting to visit all — or even most — of the sites would require various forms of transit and a questionably zealous determination.

对于托尔金的铁杆粉丝来说，霍比屯只是一个起点。杰克逊在电影中呈现的70多个景点跨越数百英里之远（分布在两个岛屿上），铁杆粉丝需要投入注意力、耐力和时间，才能多看一些地方。这些景点北起新西兰北岛北端的怀卡托港（Port Waikato，用于拍摄风云顶[Weathertop]要塞遗址），南至南岛的南端（《霍比特人》中的角色来到这个地方，向一个可以变身为熊的人寻求避难）。两地相距约1000英里，要想参观所有 —— 甚至是大多数——景点，你需要搭乘不同类型的交通工具，还得拥有热切得可疑的决心才行。

For anyone interested in a four-day Middle-earth excursion situated solely on the more populated North Island, start in Auckland and rent a car, making sure to pick up a copy of Ian Brodie’s “Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook.” HarperCollins, which published the book in 2002, originally expected it to sell 18,000 copies, but Mr. Brodie, who helps supervise Hobbiton (and who can be seen in the “Rings” movies as a Gondorian bread seller), said 500,000 are now in print. He will publish a new guide as soon as Mr. Jackson permits disclosure of the “Hobbit” film sites.

如果你有兴趣只在人口较稠密的北岛进行为期4天的中土世界游览，你可以租一辆车，从奥克兰出发。请务必购买一本伊恩·布罗迪(Ian Brodie)编写的《指环王景点指南》(Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook)。哈珀柯林斯出版社在2002年出版这本指南时，预计可以售出1.8万本，但布罗迪说到现在已经印制了50万本。布罗迪还帮助监督霍比屯的经营（他还在《指环王》中扮演了一名刚铎的面包商贩）。一旦杰克逊允许他披露《霍比特人》的拍摄地点，布罗迪就会推出新版指南。

After Hobbiton, drive about two hours south to the 300-square-mile Tongariro National Park, which has three active volcanoes and was selected by Mr. Jackson to stand in as Tolkien’s foreboding Mordor. The park, visited by about a million people annually, requires hard-core hiking to see properly, with an arduous eight-hour trek called Alpine Crossing taking you through scorched terrain to emerald lakes and steam vents. Film tourism here is not organized; most people follow the detailed where-to-go instructions Mr. Brodie offers in his book.

离开霍比屯后，向南行驶约两个小时，就到了汤加里罗国家公园。这个公园面积约300平方英里，内有三座活火山，杰克逊在这里拍摄了托尔金笔下险恶的魔多(Mordor)。公园每年约有100万游客，但要真正见识这个地方，艰苦的徒步旅行必不可少。沿着“越山步道”(Alpine Crossing)步行8小时，你会穿过焦土地带，到达翡翠湖和蒸汽孔区域。这里的电影观光活动没有人筹划组织，大多数游客都是依照布罗迪的指南按图索骥。

The centerpiece of Tongariro, aside from the volcanoes, of course, is an 83-year-old hotel called Chateau Tongariro, where Mr. Jackson and his crew camped, screening footage in its basement movie theater.

当然，除了火山之外，拥有83年历史的汤加里罗城堡(Chateau Tongariro)酒店也是公园里的著名景点。杰克逊先生和他的团队成员们曾在这里扎营，并在酒店地下室的电影院里筛选镜头。

Though it looks from the outside like a cross between “The Shining” hotel and the Baltimore psychiatric hospital in “The Silence of the Lambs,” inside the atmosphere is lovely, with a grand piano in the lobby, swollen grapefruit-colored portieres and the sweet smell of old wood. When we were there it seemed to be filled with New Zealanders enjoying a weekend away, more interested in lounging in the lobby with cocktails than hiking, which suited us just fine, as we had the trails almost entirely to ourselves.

虽然从外表来看，汤加里罗城堡既像《闪灵》(The Shining)里的饭店，又像《沉默的羔羊》(The Silence of the Lambs)里的巴尔的摩精神病院，但酒店里的气氛相当美好，它有柚子色的门帘，老旧木头的香气，大厅里还摆放了一架三角钢琴。我们在那里的时候，酒店里似乎满是前来享受周末的新西兰人，他们对端着鸡尾酒在大堂里闲逛比对徒步旅行更感兴趣，这对我们来说是件好事，因为步行道上几乎没有别人，全归我们了。

The hotel’s Ruapehu Room restaurant offers seafood appetizers and New Zealand standards as main dishes (a tasty rack of lamb with caramelized sweetbreads, 38 New Zealand dollars).

酒店的鲁阿佩胡小屋(Ruapehu Room)餐厅供应海鲜开胃菜，以及真正的新西兰风味主菜（一道美味的羊排，带有焦糖杂碎，38新西兰元）。

After a day in the shadow of Mordor, head to Wellington, a four-hour drive to the southern end of the island where Mr. Jackson’s film studio is. The offbeat, slightly San Francisco-ish capital offers more organized movie tours with visits to anywhere from 7 to 25 “Lord of the Rings” filming locations.

在魔多的阴影里呆了一天后，我们驱车4小时，抵达了北岛南端的惠灵顿，杰克逊的制片公司就在这里。惠灵顿是一座与众不同的都城，略带一点旧金山风格，也有比较多的定点电影观光路线，包含7到25个《指环王》外景地不等。

But don’t expect to see much at Mr. Jackson’s Weta Digital, a visual effects facility, or Stone Street Studios, which has four sound stages and all of the usual filmmaking trappings. Both are closed to the public. (Though Stone Street’s security guards may let you have a peek over the fence, depending on their mood.)

但是别指望能参观石街制片厂(Stone Street Studios)和杰克逊的视觉效果公司“威塔数码”(Weta Digital)，这两个地方都不向公众开放。石街制片厂拥有4个完整影棚，以及制作电影通常会用到的全部行头（不过石街制片厂的保安可能会让你隔着栅栏瞟两眼，这得视他们的心情而定）。

AS a Plan B, fans hang out in Wellington’s Seatoun district, a windy coastal enclave where Mr. Jackson owns property and has been seen driving one of his toys — a fanciful touring car used in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Or one can do a surgical strike and skip straight to the Weta Cave, a gift shop, mini-museum and theater devoted to Mr. Jackson’s movies near Weta Digital. The Hobbit collectibles veer toward the tacky, but we did pick up a few unusual postcards adorned with real-life wetas, giant New Zealand insects that serve as Mr. Jackson’s emblem.

粉丝们可以开展B计划，去惠灵顿的汐塘区(Seatoun)转悠转悠。汐塘是一块沿海飞地，经常刮风，杰克逊在这里拥有房地产，也有人见过他驾驶着他的玩具之一 ——一辆稀奇的房车，曾是《飞天万能车》(Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)中的道具——在这里招摇过市。此外，你也可以开展“精确打击”行动，直接去威塔数码公司附近的威塔之家(Weta Cave)，它是一家礼品店，一所小型博物馆，也是专门播放杰克逊电影的影院。那里的霍比特纪念品比较花哨俗气，但我们还是购买了几张不同寻常的明信片，上面印有真正的威塔图像。威塔学名沙螽，是新西兰产的一种大型昆虫，威塔数码公司的标志就是沙螽。

Having only six days to investigate the Tolkien universe that is the country of New Zealand, we had to miss some no doubt impressive sights — the Rangitata Valley on this country’s South Island, for example, where a grassy outcropping called Mount Sunday can be seen in “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” as Rohan.

我们只有6天时间在新西兰的乡村探索托尔金的世界，所以不得不放弃某些绝好的景点——比如南岛的朗伊塔塔谷(Rangitata Valley)，那里有一处长满草的小山丘，名为“周日山”(Mount Sunday)，在《指环王：双塔奇兵》中，它是罗翰国(Rohan)的要地。

But we didn’t want to skip the South Island altogether, in part because it is where New Zealand’s most jaw-dropping mountains are. Moviemaking here is centered around Queenstown, a ski village nestled against a deep glacial lake. But filmmakers come for the Remarkables, a mountain chain so named because, well ... The jagged peaks have stood in for the Rockies in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” but it was the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy that most prominently featured them, and Mr. Jackson returned for extensive “Hobbit” filming.

但是我们也不想完全放弃南岛，毕竟那里有新西兰最惊艳的山景。南岛的电影外景地主要在皇后镇附近。皇后镇是一个滑雪村落，坐落在一个很深的冰川湖旁边，但电影人来这里是为了拍卓越山脉(Remarkables)，人们给它取了这样一个名字是因为……你可以猜到。它有锯齿状的山峰，曾在《X-战警前传：金刚狼》(X-Men Origins: Wolverine)中充当落基山脉(Rockies)，但最能展示其壮观景象的还是《指环王》三部曲，而且杰克逊又回到这里拍摄了《霍比特人》的大量镜头。

Nomad Safaris was one of the first tour operators to start selling a themed excursion when fans started arriving a decade ago. “We completely underestimated the intensity of these fans,” said Nomad’s highly caffeinated owner, a British expat named David Gatward-Ferguson. “People would come and bawl their eyes out looking at where Aragorn stood.” Nomad now offers two “Safari of the Scenes” options, each priced at about $134 for adults and $65 for children and lasting four hours. The company said about 10,000 people took one last year.

10年前，当《指环王》的粉丝们开始出现在这里时，野外自由行(Nomad Safaris)是首批推出主题游览项目的旅游公司之一。“我们完全低估了这些粉丝的热情，”公司老板大卫·加特沃德-弗格森(David Gatward-Ferguson) 爱喝咖啡， 是一个移居新西兰的英国人。“粉丝来这里寻找阿拉贡(Aragorn)站过的地方，兴奋得大喊大叫。”野外自由行公司目前提供两条“外景搜寻”(Safari of the Scenes)团体游线路，成人价格为134美元，儿童价65美元，时间为4个小时。该公司表示，去年有10000名左右的游客参加了他们的团体游。

When we arrived in June, after two-hour plane ride from Wellington, Queenstown was hoping for its first snow and Mr. Gatward-Ferguson was retooling one of his tours to include “Hobbit” locations. He offered to give us a sneak peek, so we paid our fee and climbed into one of Nomad’s six-passenger S.U.V.’s, thrilled to have no other tourists in tow.

6月时，我们从惠灵顿坐了两个小时的飞机，到达了这里；当时皇后镇这里正在等待它的第一场雪。加特沃德-弗格森重新调整了他的团体游线路，把《霍比特人》的景点也增加进来。他决定让我们先睹为快，所以我们付了团费，登上了该公司一辆有6个座位的SUV，高兴地发现没有其他游客同游。

The first stop was a lakeside meadow outside Queenstown called Little Paradise, which Mr. Jackson transformed into a helipad to transport actors to a remote shooting location across the water. It was, well, a pretty little field.

第一站是皇后镇外湖边的一块草地，名为小天堂(Little Paradise)，杰克逊将它改建成了直升机停机坪，从这里把演员运送到湖对面的远程拍摄地点。这真是一个漂亮的小景点。

Speeding along and spewing factoids, Mr. Gatward-Ferguson next turned onto a gravel road and came to an abrupt stop (while simultaneously tuning the radio and sipping his coffee) at a shallow river about 30 feet across. Our destination was on the other side. Muttering under his breath, he shifted to four-wheel drive and eased into the water — gently — as we clung to the seat and wondered if we had irrevocably crossed the line between casual Hobbit fan and self-destructive fanatic.

加特沃德-弗格森一边高速飞车，一边简要介绍情况。车辆转到一条砂石路上，然后猛地停了下来（他还同时给收音机调台、喝咖啡）。面前是一条浅浅的河，大约30英尺宽，我们的目的地在河的另一边。他轻声嘀咕着，把汽车转换成四轮驱动模式，然后轻轻地、缓缓地驶入水中。我们贴在座位上，想知道自己是否已经冲破了不可逆转的界限，从普通的霍比特人爱好者转化成了自我毁灭的狂热粉丝。

Then, after a few sharp turns through some woods, we emerged in a narrow valley, clear but with evergreens on both sides. Our guide parked and hopped out of the truck. On this site, Mr. Gatward-Ferguson announced triumphantly, Mr. Jackson filmed footage to create the Isengard fortress from “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Ah, yes: We recognized the place. The sun was sparkling, but a wind blasted down the mountainsides at what seemed like hurricane force. As a gust left us shivering, he pointed out a small hill that will figure prominently in the second “Hobbit” film as the home of Beorn, the man who can transform himself into a bear.

然后，在树林中急转弯几次之后，我们到达了一个狭窄的山谷。两侧都有常青树木，谷中却什么也没有。停好车后，加特沃德-弗格森跳下汽车，得意洋洋地说，杰克逊在这里拍摄了《指环王：双塔奇兵》艾辛格要塞(Isengard fortress)的一些镜头。啊，是的，我们认出来了。阳光闪闪发亮，但沿着山坡刮下来的风却像飓风一样猛烈。一阵风刮过，我们冷得颤抖不已，加特沃德-弗格森指着一个小山丘，说它在《霍比特人》第二集中占有重要地位，因为它是比翁(Beorn)，那个可以变身成为熊的人的家。

“Let’s get back in the truck,” he said cheerfully, as tree limbs whipped back and forth. “It’s a bloody death trap around here when the wind blows.”

“我们回到车上去吧，”他乐呵呵地说，树枝来来回回地快速摆动。“刮风的时候，这里危险得要死。”

About 10 minutes later, however, he was precariously parked again, this time on the side of an impossibly narrow road. After shooing us up an embankment and into a dense forest, he proceeded to re-enact the plundering of Mr. Jackson’s evil Orcs. It was a good show; Mr. Gatward-Ferguson is no slouch as an Orc, having played one in the films. Still, our enjoyment might have been hampered by the words, “bloody deathtrap” ringing in our heads.

然而，大约10分钟后，他又危险地停了车，这次是在一条非常狭窄的道路上。他带我们爬上了一个堤防，进入一片茂密的树林，然后他开始表演《指环王》中邪恶的半兽人进行劫掠的场面。这个表演很不错：加特沃德-弗格森的半兽人也演得挺好，他本身在电影中就演过半兽人。只是“危险得要死”的声音在我们的脑海里回响，影响了我们的欣赏表演。

Barreling back toward town after a few more stops, the conversation turned to Nomad’s high hopes for a Hobbit-fueled boom. This time, Mr. Gatward-Ferguson vowed, it would be positioned to take full advantage of any surge. There will be a new tour for hard-core fans involving costumes and props. (“We’ll haul them into the forest and let them swing weapons around,” he said.) And his store will be expanded and stocked with more themed merchandise, like plastic elf ears for 17 New Zealand dollars.

又做过几次停留后，我们坐车往回赶，话题转到了野外自由行公司对《霍比特人》推动观光业繁荣寄予的厚望上。弗格森发誓说这一次他们会做好准备，充分利用蜂拥而至的游客。公司打算为铁杆粉丝推出一个新的旅游项目，其中会用到服装和道具（“我们要把他们带到森林里，让他们拿着武器比划。”他说）。他的商店也将扩大规模，出售更多的《指环王》主题商品，比如17新西兰元、塑料材质的精灵耳朵。

“No one should go home without some elf ears,” he said. “Sometimes I wear a pair myself while driving around town.”

“每个游客都应该带精灵耳朵回家，”他说，“有些时候，我开车在城里转悠时，自己也戴着一对精灵耳朵。”

TOURING TOLKIEN

托尔金旅行线

MATAMATA

玛塔玛塔

We stayed at Chestnut Lane Cottage, a five-minute drive from Hobbiton. Private and sparkling clean, this small bed-and-breakfast was where Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, stayed during filming of the “Hobbit” movies. Reservations are a must. A stand-alone one-bedroom cottage is 130 New Zealand dollars, including breakfast. Other rooms are 105 New Zealand dollars, about $89 at 1.18 New Zealand dollars to the United States dollar. (4 Chestnut Lane; 64-7-888-5173; chestnutlanecottage.com)

我们住在栗子巷小屋，距离霍比屯仅5分钟车程。这个小型的“住宿加早餐”服务私密性好，整洁明亮。在《霍比特人》中饰演比尔博·巴金斯(Bilbo Baggins)的马丁·弗里曼(Martin Freeman)拍摄期间就住在这里。请务必提前订房。单人间一晚130新西兰元，含早餐，其他房间一晚105新西兰元，按1美元兑换1.18新西兰元的汇率，约合89美元（栗子巷4号; 64-7-888-5173；chestnutlanecottage.com）。

For dinner, try the Redoubt Bar & Eatery whose welcoming fireplace was ornamented with a women’s brassiere when we were there. The menu is broad, but eating light can be hard in New Zealand. We went with the bacon-wrapped chicken breast stuffed with blue cheese, served on a Parmesan-coated portobello mushroom, 31 New Zealand dollars. (48 Broadway; 64-7-888-8585; facebook.com/redoubtmatamata)

饮食方面，你可以试试城堡酒吧和餐馆。我们在那里时，它温馨的壁炉上装饰着女式胸衣。菜单上的品种很多，但在新西兰吃到清淡的食物不容易。我们吃的是加蓝奶酪的腊肉裹鸡胸，配涂抹了帕尔马干酪的褐蘑菇，31新西兰元（百老汇48号; 64-7-888-8585; facebook.com/redoubtmatamata)。

There is also Workmans Cafe Bar, a greasy spoon down the street, which locals seem to like. (52 Broadway; 64-7-888-5498; matamata-info.co.nz/workmans)

你还可以试试那条街上的一家小饭馆，Workmans咖啡吧，当地人似乎很喜欢那里（百老汇52 号；64-7-888-5498；matamata-info.co.nz/workmans）。

TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK

汤加里罗国家公园

You can camp, rent a one-room “back country hut” or stay in a low-cost motel, but there is really only one place to stay here: the Chateau Tongariro. Rooms are standard-issue historic hotel (spare and medium-sized but clean) with cavernous bathrooms equipped with old-fashioned towel warmers. There are several nearby hiking trails (ask one of the friendly front-desk attendants for advice on which might be best for you), and other activities abound, including golf (on a simple nine-hole course) and, depending on the season, skiing and river rafting. (State Highway 48, Mount Ruapehu; 64-7-892-3809; chateau.co.nz)

你可以扎营，租个“乡村小屋”单间，或是住便宜的汽车旅馆，但这里其实只有一个可以停留的地方：汤加里罗城堡。它的客房是标准的老式酒店客房（简朴、中等大小，但很干净），有洞穴一样的浴室，配备老式的毛巾加热器。城堡附近有几条远足小道（你可以询问友好的前台服务员，请他们建议最适合你的道路），其他活动也很丰富，比如高尔夫球场（简单的9洞高尔夫球场）；根据季节不同，你可以滑雪或去河里漂流（48号国道，鲁阿佩胡火山64-7-892-3809；chateau.co.nz）。

WELLINGTON

惠灵顿

When Hollywood bigwigs come to Wellywood, as the film-industry here is known, they stay at the quirky Museum Hotel. Decorated in bright colors (magenta, turquoise, orange), the boutique hotel is on the waterfront across from Te Papa, New Zealand’s newly opened national museum. Rooms start at 200 New Zealand dollars. (90 Cable Street; 64-4-802-8900; museumhotel.co.nz)

这里的电影圈名为“惠莱坞”(Wellywood)。好莱坞的大佬们来这里时，下榻在古怪的博物馆酒店(Museum Hotel)。这家精品酒店装潢明艳（紫红、青绿、橙色），位于新西兰新开放的国家博物馆蒂帕帕(Te Papa)对面。客房起价200新西兰元。（凯博街90 号；64-4-802-8900；museumhotel.co.nz）

Eat locally sourced steak or lamb near one of the rounded windows of Hummingbird, an upscale, recently renovated restaurant, and watch the scene unfold on one of New Zealand’s busiest night-life streets. (22 Courtenay Place; 64-4-801-6336; hummingbird.net.nz)

蜂鸟餐馆(Hummingbird)是一家新近装修的高档餐厅，你可以在它的圆形窗口旁边品尝本地牛排或羊肉，观看新西兰夜生活最繁忙的街道上演的生活戏剧（考特尼区22号; 64-4-801-6336；hummingbird.net.nz）。

QUEENSTOWN

皇后镇

The Rees Hotel, a 60-room boutique hotel on the lakefront, is home to True South, one of the best-reviewed restaurants in the area. (If our room service was any indication, the critics are right.) Rooms have expansive private balconies and chic wood furnishings by a local designer, Ed Cruikshank. Rates start at 195 New Zealand dollars. (377 Frankton Road; 64-3-450-1100; therees.co.nz)

里斯酒店(Rees Hotel)是一家拥有60间客房的精品酒店，它的真南餐厅(True South)是该地区最受好评的餐馆之一（从我们享用的客房送餐服务来看，这些评价名副其实）。客房带有宽大而私密的阳台，别致的木质家具由本地设计师埃德·克鲁克香克(Ed Cruikshank)设计。起价195新西兰元（福兰克顿路377号；64-3-450-1100；therees.co.nz）。

Fat, messy sandwiches have made Fergburger a local favorite. The Little Lamby (12.50 New Zealand dollars) is “mutton on a bun” topped with mint jelly and tomato relish. The Big Al starts with a half-pound of beef, bacon, cheese, two eggs and a slice of beet. The motto for this hole in the wall: “Let there be burgers for people when they are drunk to hell.” (42 Shotover Street; 64-3-441-1232; fergburger.com)

Fergburger餐馆出售的三明治又大又花哨，深受本地人的喜爱。其中Little Lamby（12.50新西兰元）是加有羊肉、薄荷果冻和番茄调味品的圆形面包，而Big Al里至少有半磅牛肉、熏肉、奶酪、两个鸡蛋和一片甜菜。这家餐馆的墙上贴着他们的口号：“为酩酊大醉的人做汉堡包”（沙特欧瓦街42号；64-3-441-1232；fergburger.com）。

Tour Groups and Guides

旅游团和向导

The efficiency of New Zealand tour operators will thrill you, whether it’s Red Carpet Tours in Auckland (64-9-410-6561; redcarpet-tours.com) or Queenstown’s Nomad Safaris (64-3-442-6699; nomadsafaris.co.nz). A one-stop shop for accurate countrywide travel advice and booking help is Positively Wellington, the capital’s tourism division (corner of Wakefield and Victoria streets; 64-4-916-1205; wellingtonnz.com).

新西兰旅游公司的效率之高让人惊讶，无论是奥克兰的“红地毯之旅”(64-9-410-6561; redcarpet-tours.com)还是皇后镇的“野外自由行狩猎”(64-3-442-6699; nomadsafaris.co.nz)，都是如此。惠灵顿旅游部Positively Wellington推出的一站式服务可以提供准确的全国旅游信息咨询和服务预订协助（在韦克菲尔德和维多利亚街街角；64-4-916-1205 wellingtonnz.com）。

Getting Around

四处逛逛

We drove 500 miles in total, covering a wide swath of the North Island, with nothing more than the maps app on our iPhone as a guide. Car rental agencies are plentiful (remember to drive on the left). We found hopping on domestic flights to be shockingly easy. For our flight from Queenstown to Wellington, for instance, there was no security screening or gate announcement. An airport employee simply appeared while we milled around the central waiting area and said, “All right then, anyone who’s going to Wellington, get on. That door.”