Matamata

Matamata is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies within the Matamata-Piako District and serves as a local service town for surrounding farms. The area is known for its rural landscape and as a gateway to the Hobbiton Movie Set, a popular visitor attraction developed for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.

Mata mata, sometimes spelled matamata, is a freshwater turtle (Chelus fimbriata) native to the Amazon basin in South America. It has a broad, flattened, and knobby shell, a long neck, and a wide, wedge-shaped head. It inhabits slow-moving rivers, swamps, and other lentic habitats, where it ambushes prey such as fish, crustaceans, and invertebrates.

The name Matamata is used as a place name in New Zealand, reflecting its Māori origins. The same spelling, matamata, is also encountered in reference to the mata mata turtle, though the animal’s more common spelling is mata mata.