In The Lions' Den: Lions fans create fellowship at Hobbiton

Herald reporter Heath Moore is spending five weeks in a Maui campervan following the Lions fans. This is his latest report.

The shire folk have headed home.

Lions fans flocked to Middle Earth in search of their heroes Gatland the Grey, Samwise Warburton and Frodo Biggar.

While they came up short in their quest to find their heroes and silverware at Bag End, what Lions fans found was a slice of heaven - A piece of New Zealand that'll forever remain in the hearts of the world.

Hundreds, if not thousands of the Red Army have opened up hobbit holes and drank the Hobbiton's Green Dragon Inn pub dry.

With the car park bumper-to-bumper in camper vans and flags dragged over the bonnet, Hobbiton has been overrun with Lions.

Gatland's call for reinforcements didn't go unheard with fans checking every hobbit hole for signs of the next Welsh or Scotsmen waiting for their boarding pass into the Lions side.

But in the words of Bilbo Baggins: "Gandalf, my old friend, this will be a night to remember."

Indeed it was for Lions fans who ventured into the Shire.

"Hobbiton is simply stunning," Lions fan Marie Dutch exclaimed.

"It's been a bit of a fairytale dream to be here since I was younger and for it to finally happen, it's magical.

"I'm amazed at how real it is. You go a number of tourist destinations and it can lose its appeal from what you see in the films but Hobbiton is incredible. The detail from the washing hanging up on the line to cheese and wine bottles on the table is stunning.

"It feels exactly like the movie. You can picture yourself on the set. It's so real."

The Shire quickly turned into a rugby fortress with the Hobbiton Cup up for grabs. Photo / Heath Moore

But it was Hobbiton's new creation that brought laughs. Inspired by the Lions' tour down under the hobbits were put to work to create their very own rugby field along with the Hobbiton Cup.

Touring fans seized the opportunity to snap photos on Frodo's turf as others went head-to-head in touch rugby duels.

All Blacks and Lions fans locked horns before sharing a pint of hobbit beer at The Green Dragon Inn.

An All Blacks fan and a Lions fan go head-to-head on the newly created Hobbiton rugby field. Photo / Heath Moore

As fans waved goodbye to Hobbiton, they paused to reflect on their time down under.

"The rugby has been good but this trip has given us so much more than we hoped," Lions fan Dave Dutch told the herald.

"We couldn't have dreamed of a better holiday. We can't think of one negative moment during our travels."

While Legolas and Gimli may have said "You have my bow! and my axe", unfortunately for Lions fans the All Blacks won't be giving away the series anytime soon.

• Heath Moore travelled in a campervan provided by Maui, who had no control over editorial coverage.