In 2010, my wife and I took the trip of a lifetime to New Zealand for two and a half weeks. As a huge fan of Lord of the Rings, when we planned our Queenstown, New Zealand itinerary, I knew that I wanted to visit several filming locations from the films. We used a touring company called Nomad Safaris. Our guide was a local Kiwi who was very into adventure sports and knew a ton of information both about the films and filming locations but also fun things to do around Queenstown.
We teamed up with another family from the U.S. so it made the trip fun and informative. The first stop we made was to one of Queenstown’s most iconic views and tourist destinations… the AJ Hackett Bungy Bridge. Also known as the Kawarau Bridge, it houses one of the world’s first Bungy jumps as well as providing safe passage over the Kawarau River and Gorge.
Right down the road from the bridge, you will find a beautiful blue river flowing through the Kawarau Gorge which was the filming location for the fellowship as they left Lothlorien on their way through the Argonath and on into Gondor. That is before the fighting Uruk Hai ambushed them at Amon Hen.
Our next stop took us to Arrowtown, up the Arow River, and to an old gold mining road. There we were able to do some old fashioned panning for gold at the filming location for the Ford of Bruinen.
It was very cool to see the exact location that the film captured the first destruction of the ringwraiths and their horses at the Ford of Bruinen. We were also able to see the river in a rainy period, so the river looked more full and closer to the film.
As our tour went on, the rain began to pour down. Our first stop was in between Queenstown and Glenorchy which was filled with yellowish, moss and grass-covered hills that were the backdrop for the Rohirrim and Refugees of Rohan heading toward Helm’s Deep along with an exciting warg attack from the Two Towers film.
Our next stop following the Dart River in between Glenorchy and Paradise showed us some filming locations in the first and second movie…the outskirts of Lothlorien, Isengard, and we even saw the temporary home of director, Peter Jackson.
The last segment of our tour took us into the forest itself where we saw some uniquely formed trees. Our guide informed us that while scouting locations for the film, the scouts took photos of the trees that the artists and CGI staff took to help craft the look and feel of the Ents (Treebeard, Quickbeam, and the rest)
The very last stop of the day was one I noticed right away. As Sam and Frodo travel with Gollum through the hills and forest of Ithilien. The famous scene where Sam starts a fire trying to cook some rabbits and the smoke gives away their position as the Gondor soldiers battle the Harad soldiers and their Oliphants. Sadly, it was too wet and muddy for me to create the scene of the hobbits lying down to admire the battle.
My trip to New Zealand would not have been complete without this amazing Lord of the Rings tour. My guide helped make it light and fun even during the rain, helped us learn some local slang and good recommendations for restaurants and pubs, and we made some friends at the same time!
