If you’re moving to New Zealand soon and plan to start house-hunting, don’t be alarmed if you come across strange dwellings dug into the sides of mounds or end up with a wizard as a neighbour. Chances are you’ve stumbled on to a set for The Hobbit movies.

New Zealand is bracing itself for a surge in visitors after actors from around the world, including Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom, arrived in New Zealand to begin filming for the two Hobbit movies. The films will feature many of the locations used in the blockbuster Lord of the Rings trilogy, also directed by Peter Jackson and based on the JRR Tolkien book.

The purpose-built community where the hobbits live in the film, known as Hobbiton, will be left intact once filming is over, so visitors will be able to pictures themselves in situ. Many otherwise sleepy towns on both the South and North islands have been thrust into limelight after being used for filming, one example being Matamata, 100 miles south of Auckland. A “Welcome to Hobbiton” sign and a statue of Gollum greet you when you arrive along the main road and residents report that wizard sightings are common.

For details of property in New Zealand, visit the listings on Rightmove Overseas.

Preparation for anyone considering a move to New Zealand should include planning for the transfer of your pounds into New Zealand dollars. For information on how to do this safely and save money when doing so, speak to currency exchange specialist <a href="https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/currency-zone.html"Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in New Zealand, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘New Zealand Property Buying Guide’