Lake Pukaki: Day 11
To reach the next hub of Lord of the Rings film sites in Queenstown, we embarked on a 13 hour bus ride from Christchurch. Unlike the Fellowship toiling along on foot or the dwarves journeying by pony, we rode in great comfort on a bus. In fact, we got too comfortable and caught up some sleep instead of taking in all the sights. But our first stop of the day held a gorgeous film site from the Hobbit film: Laketown.
On the Shores of the Long Lake
These pictures don’t exaggerate the fabulous blue of Lake Pukaki’s water. The rocky shore is festooned with lupines, which are not native to New Zealand but are nevertheless quite common. The story goes that a lady loved them so much that she threw seeds out the car window whenever she drove into town, so they’ve taken root. 🙂
Laketown was filmed near the far end of the lake. Mount Cook, which was used in many background shots in The Hobbit, is also on that end of the lake, but unfortunately mist obscured our view of the mountain during our visit.
The Hill Country
Later on, we passed through the hill country, which displayed a landscape with its distinctive native tuft grass similar to locations used for the Riders of Rohan.
One can imagine the Riders of Rohan appearing over these hills 
The south island’s dramatic hill country
For another tasty tidbit, we ordered a Lamington. Kiwis and Australians debate which of them invented this soft white cake with a cream filling and a raspberry sauce exterior coated with coconut flakes. If you ever have the opportunity, try this delightful dessert!
The next day we would go off-road to visit film sites not only from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit, but also 3 other films! Join us next time in a fantasy filming paradise!
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Journey to Middle Earth Series:
Day 1: Living Like Hobbits (Auckland)
Day 2: To Middle Earth and Beyond! (Port Waikato & Hot Water Beach)
Day 3-4: Hobbiton (Matamata)
Day 5: Geothermal Wonderland (Rotorua)
Day 6: The Forests and Rivers of Middle Earth (North Island)
Day 7: Weta Workshop & the Forests of Middle Earth (Wellington)
Day 8: Paths of the Dead (Putangirua Pinnacles)
Day 9: Flight of Fantasy (Wellington & Christchurch)
Day 10: Edoras, Capital of Rohan (Mount Sunday)
Day 11: Lake Pukaki (Laketown)
Days 12-14 part 1: Queenstown (Isengard, Lothlorien, Ithilien, and more!)
Days 12-14 part 2: Queenstown (Argonath, Dimrill Dale, Rohan, and more!)
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