I like to spend my Sundays fascinating about spectacular destinations I’ll visit in the future. This week’s protagonist of my Sunday musings: New Zealand.
Honesty hour: I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fangirl. When I was 14, I watched The Fellowship of the Ring with my cousins during a particularly long Christmas day. We got so into it that after those 3 hours that we decided to immediately follow it up with The Two Towers. Of course, after that, we were so far down the rabbit hole that we couldn’t do anything other than finishing off the spectacular day of nerdism with The Return of the King. As we were reduced to a tired, sleepy, and blubbering mess when Frodo said goodbye to Sam, I realized that I had lost my heart to yet another fantasy series (at this point, I was already unhealthily obsessed with Harry Potter).
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when I say that I want to visit New Zealand for the sole purpose of hiking to far-off LOTR film locations. Okay, maybe it’s not my sole purpose, but it’s pretty high on my bucket list. Apparently, it’s a thing. It even has a name. Tolkien tourism.
Edoras – Mount Sunday (Canterbury)
The stunning location of Edoras, the capital city of Rohan, that is featured in The Two Towers was built among the impressive snow-capped mountains of Mount Sunday in the Rangitata Valley. Even without these picturesque wooden houses of the city of horses gracing the valley, this location allegedly makes for an incredible hiking destination. It is without a doubt #1 on my New Zealand bucket list.
Arwen vs. Nazgûl – Shotover River (Skippers Canyon)
As an avid horse-rider, the scene in which Arwen sends huge waves of water cascading down onto the pursuing Nazgûl with her Elven badassery was always a favorite. Turns out, this awesome scene of Elvish girlpower is set on the stony banks of the Shotover River in Skippers Canyon.
The barrel scene – Pelorus River (Marlborough)
The Hobbit movies, unlike the LOTR series, will always be a hate it or love it situation. I, for one, adore them. As for The Desolation of Smaug, the infamous barrel scene is without a doubt one of my favorite scenes of the series so far. Filmed on location in the Pelorus River in Marlborough, this scene was for many actors the most fun they had while shooting The Hobbit trilogy. Peter Jackson’s vlog on the filming of this scene is also a good laugh, as you get to see wet dwarves and actors hooting with joy cascading down the river in actual barrels.
Mordor and Mount Doom – Tongariro National Park
I think we can all agree that Jackson’s CGI team did an amazing job on Mordor. Because looking at the location for this famous fictional hell, it looks nothing short of a natural paradise. Tongariro National Park might have been surrounded by ominous black clouds and huge lightning bolts, but in real life this NP is a dream for every hiker and nature photographer.
The entrance to the Lonely Mountain – Turao (Mount Ruapehu)
Mount Ruapehu is a beloved ski resort for the adventurous, but for The Desolation of Smaug Jackson chose to set the pivotal scene on this gorgeous mountain. In the movie, we watch the dwarves struggle with the opening of the entrance to the Lonely Mountain. In reality, this majestic mountain offers a surreal view of the surrounding valleys.
Hobbiton – Matamata
Hobbiton has become the symbol of innocence in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Lucky for us, Jackson decided to conserve this elaborate film location for Tolkien lovers and visitors from all over the world to see. Wander the little streets, visit the replica of the Green Dragon Inn and have an authentic beef stew, or blow your entire traveling budget on souvenirs in the Shire Store. It might be a bit on the expensive side ($75 per person), but if you’re a Tolkien fanatic and you’ve flown all the way to New Zealand, I feel like you might as well spend the money on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
The Spectacular Reality 