SCENERY AND LANDSCAPES
'Lord of The Rings' is the greatest movie trilogy in the history of the genre of fantasy films. It is fair to say that the original Star Wars films have been eclipsed. The 3 LOTR films have an adult storyline taken from one of the true classics of 20th - century literature, great acting and SFX by WETA.
This film, directed by Peter Jackson, with Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood acting the leading parts, is famous for its landscapes, scenery and different visual effects. In a sense of the natural beauty of the film, it is incredible. All three films incorporate a level of beauty and grandeur hard to find in many films. New Zealand's fresh and exotic landscapes are always present through the film, and can often take one's breath away.
New Zealand encapsulates all the geographical features of Middle-earth. The capital of New Zealand is also the capital of Middle-earth. Within the Wellington region are the outer reaches of the Shire, where Frodo and the hobbits escaped the Black Riders. Also located near Wellington is the evil tower of Saruman, the hidden refuge of Rivendell and the encampment of Dunharrow.
The area around Matamata was transformed into the village of Hobbiton, Home of the hobbits, where Frodo began his perilous journey. The rolling green hills of Waikato perfectly portray the peaceful Shire, home of Bilbo and Frodo for many years. The rural landscape of ordered farms and hedgerows is a delight.
Further north, on the coast near Port Waikato, are the frowning slopes of Weathertop where Frodo was stabbed by the Black Rider.
A drive over the hills to the Wairarapa will take you to the eerie Putangirua Pinnacles, where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli sought the Paths of the Dead. The many and varied landscapes around Queenstown, Glenorchy and Arrowtown meant that more country-side scenes were filmed here than anywhere else.
Within a day's drive you can visit the eaves of Lothlorien, walk along the ridge in Ithilien, where Sam and Frodo first saw the terrifying Oliphants, or stand at the Ford of Bruinen where Arwen drove back the Black Riders.
Further inland is the ridge where the Fellowship rested after the horrors of the Mines of Moria and hid from the evil crows of Saruman. Along the coast, past beaches of golden sands, lies Chetwood Forest, where Aragorn and the hobbits fled after their stay at Bree.
The Waiau River between Te Anau and Manapouri doubled as the River Anduin as the Fellowship paddled south from Lothlorien, and the surrounding high peaks became the rough country south of Rivendell. Clear blue alpine lakes lap against shores of verdan native bush embraced by precipitous mountains. In other seasons the scarred rocky incline of Mt Ruapehu becomes the Emyn Muil where Frodo and Sam captured Gollum. Nearby are the slopes of Mt Doom, the epicentre of evil, and home to Sauron. Here was the battle of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age when the Ring was cut from the hand of Sauron. At Ohakune, Gollum caught fish beneath the forested slopes of Mt Ruapehu.
Near Twizel in the Mackenzie Country the epic battle of the Pelennor Fields (Return of the King) took place, where thousands of orcs bred by Sauron clashed with the men of Gondor and Rohan. The grassy fields that stretch to the foothills of the White Mountains are really here - exactly as described in The Lord of the Rings.