If you are interested in lots of details on our full day Lord of the Rings tour, keep reading! Those who really just want pictures of Rue... this isn't your blog post :)
Our guide from Nomad Safaris, Badger, picked us up on Saturday morning, December 27, and we set off around Lake Wakatipu. Not only was Badger full of Lord of the Rings trivia, but also history of the area, tree names, and wild herb locating skills.
Our first stop was to look back at Queenstown at Deer Park Heights, a large hill with the Remarkables mountains behind it. This was the spot where lots of Rohan filming took place, including the people fleeing to Helm's Deep, the attack of the Wargs and Aragorn falling. Unfortunately we could not visit these spots, as it has been mistreated by visitors and is now closed. The Remarkables were apparently used throughout the film, even in scenes where they appear to be in front of a character, then also behind them. Peter Jackson is said to have called them "The Extendables."
Badger drove us past some of his good fishing holes to view where the tower of Isengard had been implanted into Paradise valley.
Once we had driven to paradise itself, we were within Isengard, though it is easier to recognize at a distance. Up to our right was a cleft in the mountains used as the location for the dam in the film, which the Ents pull apart.
To the left in the Valley is the hill where Beorn's cottage was built for the second Hobbit film. The set was taken down after filming.
After this we had a morning tea break, where Badger supplied tea, hot chocolate, biscuits, and capes and swords... as you do. So we have a few photos with us in Hobbit cloaks. Parts of Mt. Aspiring National Park, though not necessarily where we were standing, were used for the filming of Lothlorien. The leaves of New Zealand's beech trees turn gold and fall to the ground, just like the Mallorn trees described in the books.
Our final stop before lunch was Twelve Mile Delta, which was used to film the gardens of Ithilien, where Faramir and his men ambush the Haradrim and Oliphants, and where Sam and Gollum argue about cooking the rabbits.
After lunch, we drove along the Karawau River Gorge to the old bridge, site of A.J. Hackett's bungy jumping company. No, Mom, I did not jump. We did watch other people jump, though.
We were standing in the spot where the Pillars of the Kings were digitally implanted. The Karawau was used as the Anduin River where Aragorn, Legolas, and Boromir paddle boats after leaving Lothlorien.
The last film location was the Ford of Bruinen, where Arwen beats back the Black Riders. We were standing on the side where the Black Riders come down the path, and Liv Tyler would have been across the way.
Finally, Badger drove us up Coronet Peak, outside Queenstown, to get a view of the beautiful countryside. What a great country to represent Middle Earth!
