Check out the 5 travel destinations that any “The Lord of the Rings” fan cannot miss
Do you enjoy our last Hobbit journey to the North Island of New Zealand?
For fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, Hobbiton must be at the top of your list when considering a Middle-Earth tour, but what else? If you’re a fellow LOTR (The Lord of the Rings) fan, do check out the 5 destinations in this article. They will surely bring you a lot of WOW experience, even if you only have a limited time of stay. In my last article (click here) we covered 2 of them in North Island, Shire, and Mordor; today we will continue to South Island to the rest of 3 Middle-Earth wonders.
Destination #3 Arrowtown/ Ford of Bruinen
Arrowtown is a small charming village only a 20-min drive from tourists’ favorite Queenstown on South Island. It underwent the gold rush back in the 19th century and is now well-known for its beautiful foliage in autumn. At the right season, making a short stop at Arrowtown could guarantee picturesque scenery covered in multi-color maples and birch trees.
For a 1-hour short walk along Arrow River to Wilcox Green, you will encounter river banks Ford of Bruinen. It’s the place where beautiful Elven Princess Arwen fought off fierce black riders Ringwraiths to save Frodo.
Another short LOTR footage was shot in the forest alongside river banks, that is the Gladden Fields scene where King of Gandor Isildur tragically lost One Ring not long after he cut it from Sauron’s finger.
Destination #4 Queenstown/ Argonath, Isengard, & Lothlórien
Many of you know Queenstown as the Adventure Capital, where you can find all sorts of extreme sports; Bungy Jumping, Skydiving, Jet Boating, Paragliding…you name it. If you want to get your heart pumping, just drop by Queenstown and you won’t be disappointed.
You may ask, how does fantastic Middle-Earth have anything to do with these thrill-seeking activities? Well, the answer is, you can reach lots of LOTR locations from Queenstown, such as Kawarau Gorge and Paradise.
Kawarau Gorge/ Argonath
New Zealand’s Kawarau Gorge is famous for being the world’s first commercial Bungy Jump site back in 1988 by AJ Hackett. If you are brave enough, join Bungy jumpers around the world. Take the 43 m to leap from Kawarau Bridge, then enjoy the below scenery before you feel head over heels (literally).
Remember the scene that the Fellowship passed by two gigantic statues while paddling along Andui River, and Aragorn identified them as Argonath, the old kings of Gondor? While the Fellowship was certainly in awe of the ancient greatness, The Pillars of Kings were pure works of CG. That is not saying we can’t enjoy the beautiful Kawarau Gorge with turquoise water and steep coast.
If you are really into adrenaline rush, be a brave man/ woman and try Nevis Highwire Bungy. There you can take a dive from a 134 m height cable car, the way an Elven Prince would do. (Orlando Bloom who played Legolas tried the bungy when filling LOTR)
Paradise/Isengard
Have you heard of Paradise? If you fantasize about riding a horse in the woods like Aragorn or Legolas, you’ve come to the right place.
There are many horse-riding agents for your choosing in Paradise and nearby Glenorchy. High Country Horses and Dart Stables are two highly-recommended names. Just consider the below factors before booking.
- Time and transportation: Glenorchy is only 1-hour drive from Queenstown, easily accessible by agent’s shuttle bus or self-driving. However, to see Saruman’s Wicked Vale Isengard, you must go to Paradise. It takes another 17 km gravel path from Glenorchy, not recommended for a rental car.
- Riding skill: if you are a beginner rider like me, the bumpy ride on the horseback might be more scary than exciting, especially when your horse decide to make a little run so that she can beat her friends ahead.
- Weather: my Paradise tour was unfortunately on a rainy and super windy day. Apart from freezing, we didn’t even make it to see Isengard in full. So my advice is, bring extra warm clothing and a kettle of hot beverage just in case. (You would thank me if you have to ride in rain for 2 hours)
Paradise/ Lothlórien
Apart from wicked Isengard, another highlight of Paradise is the ancient beech forest. It was the scene where the Fellowship met elf Haldir before entering the enchanted Elven realm Lothlórien.
The rain stopped for a while when we were in the mossy forest. Under the dim light, shivering out of cold, I almost felt that I can hear the whisper from Galadriel, Lady of Lórien, the way Frodo did when he was grieving for the loss of Gandalf the Grey.
Destination #5 Mount Cook/ Pelennor Fields, Lake Town
Mount Cook National Park and Lake Tekapo are two of my favorite places on South Island. For the last stop of our Hobbit journey, let’s go to Mt Cook, aka Aoraki (the cloud piercer as called by indigenous New Zealanders Māori)
Mt Cook is the highest mountain (3724 m) in New Zealand. It was the practice site for the famous mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillary, before he was the first confirmed adventurer to reach the summit of Mt Everest.
You can see Mt Cook and its neighborhood Twizel and Lake Pukaki in both LOTR and The Hobbits trilogy. Rumor has it that it will also pop up in the upcoming The Lord of the Rings TV series on Amazon Prime. Check out the cover glacier photo and below inviting shot of Mt Cook hiking trail. Don’t you want to take a trekking pole and explore the Middle-Earth in a Hobbit style?
Twizel/ Plelennor Fields
Which battle scene is your favorite in the LOTR trilogy? Many fans may choose the over 13 minutes “The Battle of Pelennor Fields” in The Return of the King (the final film of the trilogy). It’s the ultimate battle: the evil side of ugly Orcs, giant elephants, and scaring Easterlings; against the outnumbered Gondor and Rohan Men, good-old Fellowship members, and surprised reinforcements Army of the Dead commanded by Aragorn.
South Island’s Twizel was chosen to outline this important battlefield due to its vast plain field overcasting by the snowcapped White Mountains. The exact shooting location of the battle is now on private land, so to visit you have to book a tour with local agents. Don’t be too surprised if you find your guide was an Orc or Ranger once. After all, 1,700 extras were hired for this scene so everyone who’s anyone in Twizel was involved.
Twizel also took a part in “An Unexpected Journey” (the 1st film of The Hobbit trilogy). During a 5-min scene, dwarf king Thorin and the rest of the Company were chased by an army of Orcs. They ran for over 100 miles in an open field, before Elven Lord Elrond and his crew arrived to save the day and led them to the fantasy elven realm Rivendell.
Though not enough time for a stay at Twizel town, I really appreciated the tranquil view when driving on State Highway 8. Btw, if you need to stop for lunch near Twizel, treat yourself to some fresh salmons in local salmon farms that are nurtured from ultra-clean Southern Alps glacier water.
Lake Pukaki/ Laketown
While Mt Cook appeared in LOTR mostly for some Misty Mountains scenes, the mountain also made an appearance in the 2nd film of The Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug. Take the 54.7 km State Highway 80 in the direction of Mt Cook and you will find Lake Pukaki.
The mirrored reflections of snowcapped Mt Cook cast upon the lake, drawing an out-of-this-world dreamy picture, make you almost forget it’s the same image which an angry dragon Smaug flying from his evil nest in the Lonely Mountain and destroyed Laketown.
This is the end of our Hobbit journey, hope you enjoy the ride.
Below is a quote from Bilbo which depicted the reason why I wrote about traveling in New Zealand. Hope my two articles can bring you some joy either you are a The Lord of the Rings fan, someone who’s considering a New Zealand trip, or simply an adventurer longing for natural wonders.
“Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story”
Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring
PS, all photos in this article were taken by me, welcome to follow my Instagram account here for more. And for the North Island Hobbit journey, please click here.
Reference material:
1. The Lord Of The Rings Location Guidebook by Ian Brodie (2011 edition)
(I bought the book in a souvenir shop when waiting for my helicopter ride to Fox Glacier in South Island, and it’s a total gem for LOTR fan)
2. https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
3. http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Main_Page
(All the characters and location names in this article are linked to LOTR or Tolkien fandom page for detailed descriptions)
If you like my article or are a fellow “The Lord of the Rings” fan, don’t be shy to give me a shout-out below or reach me via email.
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