Lord of the Rings Tour - Wellington

The most notable “tramping” (colloquial for a hike) we did was the Northern Walkway from Johnsonville (where Joe and Rita live) up Mount Kakau and then down into town. The forest was incredible, just like in a fantasy book it was filled with shaggy trees, delicate ferns and bright orange mushrooms. Above the forest line we were treated to panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and bay. As expected the mountains were dotted with grazing sheep. Only in New Zealand would you see a sign “careful of the sheep – lambing season from _____ to _____”.

We also discovered Courtney Place, where everything happens: bars, restaurants, clubs and the theatre where Lord of the Rings (LOR) premier took place. Joe said the Lord of the Rings premier was an amazing spectacle with a range of attractions from people dressed up as orcs and nazguls, to a red carpet leading up to the theatre for miles and miles. (It goes without saying that Joe sold a busload of hamburgers.) As a result of the movie and the subsequent peak in tourism, Peter Jackson is a national hero. There are numerous LOR tours on offer.

Tereza: “Ricky, that LOR fanatic, decided he could not pass up the opportunity to do one of the tours.” While most of the LOR tours were exhorbitantly priced, we selected one that was pretty reasonable and close to Wellington in the Hutt River Valley. It is a real pity that the sets have been taken down but it is apparent that the movie was an incredible achievement. We saw the barren industrial area where the “wet scenes” (Lake at the entrance to the Mines of Moria, Isenguard, the Dead Marshes) were shot using a blue background to hide the trains behind them. The vocals had to be redone later to cut out the background sounds. At the time, most of the scenes were concealed so none of the public could see what was going on, except for Helms Deep and Minas Tirith, which were set in a quarry right next to a major highway. Our tour guide wishes he had taken pictures. The most memorable was the set used for Rivendell situated in a reserve in the Upper Hutt River Valley. Rivendell, the House of Elrond the half-elf, the place were man meets elf, perpetually filled with the wistful autumn of the elves as they pass into the West and the immortal spring of their joy and song. A forge for swords and alliances it holds destiny in its balance. It is also the last refuge before the Misty Mountains and the lands beyond: halfway house between home and adventure; the base from which you set out and the refuge to whence you return; a doorway between the familiar and the unfamiliar, translating and transforming the mundane into fantasy and vis-à-vis. It is a retreat filled with contemplation, discussion, music, poetry, beauty, arts, arcane knowledge, healing, wisdom, counsel, recuperation, reflection, inspiration and fellowship. It is here where legends are recalled and the chronology of Middle Earth recorded in haunting elven songs and Bilbo’s books.

The set itself had been removed and restored to its prior natural state in the midst of a tropical rain forest and therefore one had to close ones eyes and use nature and the sound of the nearby river as a catalyst to evoke the imagination - “Ensconced in nature, the majestic halls of Rivendell issue wistful elven harp notes that sigh through autumn leaves, tiptoe across pearling brooks and finally drown in the roar of waterfalls.”While the Upper Hut River Valley was not Rivendell, the set was situated in a beautiful rain forest and we explored the narrow passages between the giant weathered trees. Trapped in nets of dappled shadow we were soon drowned in a sea of green: sage green, lime green, fern green, olive green, slime green, sun-shot green, pallid watery green, kelp green, frog green, mamba green, sharkskin green, dark dragon-scale green, nazgul grey-green …. Gulp its Fangorn! If it wasn’t for the great shaggy Tree Ents marking the trial to the elven rope bridge, we wouldn’t have made it out alive!