Queenstown: Days 12-14 Part 1
What’s a blogger to do when visiting 9 film sites used in 6 films in one day (and then even more the next day)? Split the findings into multiple posts!
Queenstown, located on New Zealand’s south island, is a hub for filmmaking. Nestled amid stunning mountains and a beautiful lake, this gem is a must-see for any Lord of the Rings fans! We toured the area with Nomad Safaris, a spectacular touring company using off-road vehicles with license plates of the names of characters from LotR (for the older vehicles) and Hobbit (for the newer). Apparently each vehicle has its own personality, with Pippin making for a worse ride than a nice ones like Eowyn (seems fitting!). We had the pleasure of riding with Balin and seeing Gimli and Gloin drive by together. Our first stop was at the motherlode: Paradise!
Paradise: A Filmmaker’s Heaven
We literally crossed over the river Jordan into a place called Paradise. This spectacular ranch has hosted many a film shoot, practically all in one spot! The beautiful mountains with their caps of snow and mantles of greenery served as the setting for Isengard in the LotR films.
The Dart River running below also appeared in the opening of Prince Caspian, where the title character crosses the river to flee the pursuing soldiers. Some of King Miraz’s men pursuing him actually worked at the horse farm nearby.
The field leading up to this ford hosted another pair of film sites. Beorn’s house in the Hobbit stood in front of a rather unique conical tree at the edge of the woods. The local guide informed us that when a photograph of the house was leaked to the newspaper, director Peter Jackson wanted to fire the security staff, but since Queenstown is a relatively small community, there weren’t enough people with the security clearance to replace them! The forest beyond the house also served as the entrance to Fangorn Forest.
A mere few yards away, another recognizable reddish tree marks the place where the cottage in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine film stood. The filmmakers did, in fact, blow up a real barn and helicopter on site! The bridge over which Wolverine subsequently rides his motorcycle to escape is also nearby. You can tell it’s a New Zealand bridge in the movie by the yellow arrow pointing people to drive on the left side of the road (as opposed to the right for the supposed Canadian setting).
Glenorchy: Woods Wonderland
On the way to Paradise stands a beautiful forest in Glenorchy. The red beech trees, named for the rich tone of their inner wood, drop leaves that naturally turn yellow and orange when shed on the ground. With some additional color tinting to symbolize the autumn of the elven age, this place became the entrance to Lothlorien, where the fellowship meets Haldir.
The forest also hosted the sites for the Uruk Hai battle below Amon Hen and Boromir’s death. Because of Department of Conservation rules forbidding the removal of any fallen logs, this place, along with other Queenstown film sites, caused the most injuries to Uruk Hai actors and cameramen running around amid the treacherous roots and branches.
12 Mile Delta: The Road to Mordor
Heading back toward Queenstown, we stopped at 12 Mile Delta, the site of Ithilien where Sam cooked the rabbit stew before Frodo spotted the Haradrim with their imposing oliphaunts. A little circle of stones remains to commemorate the campfire.
The campfire ring where Sam may have cooked his taters 
The overlook where Frodo and Sam watched the ambush (I’m including this picture primarily because it makes me laugh.)
The park stretches to the lake’s edge, where Faramir saw the vision of Boromir’s death near Osgiliath.
Lake Wakatipu’s Secret
Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand’s longest (if not largest) lake, holds an interesting Maori legend and another film site. The story goes that a dark giant captured a princess in his icy lair, and the chief offered her hand to anyone who could rescue her. When none of the warriors returned, her forbidden love realized the giant must be defeated by trickery and waited until the foe fell asleep to burn the bonds binding the princess to him. By the time the giant awoke, he could not put out the flames, and his ice cave melted around him to form the lake. The tide is attributed to his heartbeat.
What thrilled us about the lake, however, is that it contains a tiny spit of land, Hidden Island, that was used in the movie Willow for the place where Fin Raziel was trapped in the form of a possum. The island is so small that it is almost impossible to distinguish from the nearby shore unless viewed from just the right angle. As fantasy fans raised on this film as well as LotR, we were happily surprised by this secret gem!
Arrowtown
An old mining town with many buildings preserved from the era, Arrowtown sits next to the Arrow River, which featured in a couple scenes from Fellowship of the Ring. A park close to the main street was used for Isildur’s ambush.
Our guide took us four-wheel driving up through the river—with many a splash and a laugh—to the portion used for the Ford of Bruinen, where the Black Riders fled through the water to escape the flood. Interestingly, the shots of Arwen in that scene were actually taken elsewhere on the nearby Shotover River.
While we saw much more, there is too much to fit in a single post, or even one day! We ended up visiting several of these sites twice since our first excursion led us through bad weather, with clouds obscuring the views and wind blowing the rain into a hazard for our cameras. But as you can see from the lovely pictures, it was worth going back! Join us next time for even more fabulous scenes trivia and scenery!
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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