Ring Things
NZ is not just the home of rugby and bungy jumping. It also has an alter ego as Middle Earth. I’ve received quite a few questions about what locations we’ve seen. Up until now it hasn’t been much with the exception of Mt. Doom.
Arriving in Queenstown, it’s not hard to understand why many sites in this area were chosen. After an exciting jet boat ride (we had to do some kind of touristy adventure activity!), we headed off to seek out some filming locations. We started in Glenorchy, where Eric spent a morning fishing in the shadows of the mountains that stood in for Isengard, minus the tower that was digitally inserted. Here’s the spot.
Back in Qtown, there is a farm with goats, llamas, deer, and other exotic game that was the site of many of the scenes of Rohan. It’s on private property, but you can pay about US$10 per car to drive and walk through it. The most famous spot here is the rock where Aragorn plunged over while battling the Warg in the 2nd movie. Yes, I know how geeky this all sounds, but in my defense we were far from alone at these sites, so I’m not the only one.
The next stop was my favorite. We hiked up to the top of the Remarkables (a mountain range) Ski Field to the Dimrill Dale. This is the spot where, at the end of the 1st film, the fellowship is recovering from the shock the Gandalf’s death. Unlike many of the other places which were heavily altered with special effects, this one looks exactly like the movie. It’s beautiful and luckily we had some great weather too.
The final stop on the way out of town was near a bridge where they bungy jump. Just behind it is a river in a sharp gorge where the “Pillars of the Kings” would have been. You have to really use your imagination for that one.
There are quite a few other locations here, but in the words of our favorite wizard, “All you have to do is to decide what to do with the time that is given you.”
Tags: New Zealand, Travel, Tag Index
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