Movie Set Locations

NEW ZEALAND - NORTHERN ISLAND

Matamata

From Auckland we traveled south to Matamata in the Waikato region. Matamata is the land of the movie set and farm tours. At the ticket office in the town centre we got our entrance tickets and continued our way to the Hobbiton movie set.

Just like Frodo, we started our quest here. All outdoor Hobbiton locations through the trilogy were filmed on the estate. These lands are actually a sheep farm. Before we got to the car park, we stopped on a hill that overlooks the meadows. There is a sign that welcomed us to Hobbiton. In the background we had a beautiful overview of where the set location was build. It was here that Peter Jackson and Alan Lee made the first concept drawings of The Shire.

A total of 37 Hobbit holes were build here. Today only a dozen still remain. The big signs with reference photos that point out the exact camera angles used for the movie, are a brilliant guidance.

From the car park we continued our way on foot. On this road, two scenes of Gandalf's arrival in The Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring (FotR) can be found. Amongst the remaining holes are the one where Sam does some gardening during Bilbo’s introduction ‘About Hobbits’ in the FotR.

The main attraction lies on the top of the hill. Here you can find the remains of what used to be Bag End. All the props, ornaments and gardens have been torn down. Nevertheless the outline of the Hobbit hole is very recognizable. All Hobbit holes are just a metre or two deep. They were only used for the outdoor sets. The interiors were shot on a soundstage. Occasionally there is one that is a little deeper, such as Bag End, for shots of people going in or coming out of the holes. On the roof of the Bag End hole lies an oak tree cut down in pieces. The set designers chopped down an oak three, numbered the branches and reassembled the tree on top of the hill, completing it with plastic leaves (Made in Taiwan).

Another highlight is the Party tree by the lake. This huge tree dominates the landscape. It is here that the hobbits pull up the banner for Bilbo’s 111th birthday and that he makes his birthday speech. The shores of the little lake became the hearth of the Shire. The set builders constructed, next to the Hobbit holes, the Green Dragon Inn, a water mill and a bridge. Although the bridge was only designed to carry Gandalf’s horse and carriage, it was, to the set dressers surprise, strong enough to hold the landowner’s Landrover.

The production crew was given free play by the landowner of the sheep farm; as long as they kept the many gates that separate the different packs of sheep closed.

Though the set dressers kept defending their innocence, the landowner gave them a good dressing-down, after two different packs of sheep got mixed. Later on it became clear that a certain set piece (the bridge over the lake) had breached the natural fence between the two packs …

In the Shire’s Rest you’re always welcome for second breakfast and you also find the souvenir shop here. We stayed the night in Lake Plaza Hotel in the town of Rotuora.

Mount Ruapehu

The following day we drove from Rotuora to the ski resort Whakapapa Village. On top of the volcanic mountain we found Meads Wall. Several Mordor scene from the opening of The Two Towers (TTT) were shot here. Meads Wall was used as the wastelands of Emyn Muil where Frodo and Sam got lost on their way to the Black Gates of Mordor. It is also here that the first encounter of our heroes with Gollum was filmed.

There are two other scenes which were shot on the mountain. The scene of The Last Alliance of Men and Elves against Sauron; and in specific: Isildur cutting off the Ring from Sauron’s hand in the prologue of the FotR were filmed here. The last scene shot here is the armies of Mordor leaving Minas Morgul on Orc Road in The Retrun of the King (RotK).

We drove down the mountain and took the Ohakune Mountain Road Scenic Drive on to Mangawhero Falls. The mountain river and the waterfall here were used as the background for the Ihilien scene when Gollum tries to catch a fish, while Frodo and Sam have an argument about Gollum and the Ring. The waterfall also stood example for the Forbidden Pool in TTT. Although much was done digitally, it is clear that this location looks very similar to the scene as Frodo prevents Gollum being shot by Faramir and his archers.

We stayed the night in the Powderhorn Chateau. During filming, the cast and crew also spent the night in this wooden lodge. So don’t forget to ask for one of these rooms when you pass the night here.

The hotel also has a guest book with autographs of cast and crew members , and a T-shirt signed by Elijah Wood and Sean Astin.

The Mansion 212 & #214	Peter Jackson	Room #304	Billy Boyd
Room #216	John Rhys-Davies	Room #306	Orlando Bloom
Room #216	Sean Astin (second stay)	Room #307 & #309	Sean Astin & Family
Room #217	Sir Ian McKellen	Room #310 & #316	Andy Serkis
Room #303	Dominic Monaghan	Room #317	Elijah Wood

We stayed in room #310, which Andy Serkis had to share with his alter ego Gollum.

Mokai Gravity Canyon

The next morning there were ice flowers on the window of our room. Alex, our driver, had got up early to make the couch free of ice. As we were leaving Ohakune we could see Mount Ruapehu and Mount Ngauruhoe.

The latter features in the LotR trilogy as Mount Doom. The images were digitally enhanced, but the mountain’s outline strongly looks like Mount Doom in the movies.

Our first stop of the day was Mokai Gravity Canyon near the town of Taihape. Here, the Rangitikei River runs through a deep gorge with sheer cliff walls. Because is resembles the description in the book, it was chosen to portrait the river Anduin. The white cliff walls are so recognisable, that you begin to daydream and automatically start to hum the theme from Lord of the Rings.

Mokai Gravity Canyon is known for its bungee jumps. You can jump from the bridge to the canyon’s floor. The production crew spanned a cable over the gorge, so they could make aerial shots of the canyon. This inspired the people of Mokai Gravity Canyon and they invented the Flying Fox. The Flying Fox is a sledge which hangs under a cable across the gorge. It is an extreme ride that takes you from 0 to 160 km/h in less than 6 seconds!

Nick, Jamie and I decided to take a ride on the Flying Fox. We had to fill out some paperwork and we were also weighed, to make sure the sledge was correctly balanced. We hiked to the top op the gorge. On the pictures above you see the view from the launch platform. Safety first: we were each strapped in two harnesses! ... 3 ...2 ...1 ... Action!

Wellington

From Taihape we headed for the capital of New Zealand. On our way to the coast we drowe by Pukerua, where Peter Jackson, director of the LOTR, grew up. When we entered Wellington, we came by the Westpac Stadium.

The Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington. Because of its shape, it is often called the Cake-Tin or even The Ring of Fire, by the locals. During a cricket match, director Peter Jackson recorded 30.000 fans chanting in Black Speech for the sound of chanting Uruk-hai during the Battle of Helms Deep in TTT.

We made our way to Mount Victoria in the suburbs of the city.It is here on the slopes of Mount Vicoria where in 1999 filming began.

Three consecutive scenes from the FotR were shot on one of the footpaths. The first scene is a rather funny one where the four Hobbit friends land on top of one another in their attemt to escape from Farmer Maggot. But then the mood turns dark when Frodo shoots: 'Get off thre road!'. In he last scene that was filmed here we see the Hobbits hiding from the Nazgûl under the tree roots. Because there are no trees in New Zealand that are as broad as the one shown in the film, the people from Weta Workshop actually creacted the roost as a setpiece for the shot.

When standing on top of Mount Victoria, you have a beautiful view over the city of Wellington.

At the foot of the mountain lies The Embassy Theatre. It was in front of this cinema, on Courtenay Place, that housands of fans came to see the red-carpet world premieres of all three Lord of the Rings movies. The people from Weta Workshop created a special ornament, for every premiere. For TTT they created a giant Gollum figure that still can be seen at Wellington Airport.

In the Embassy Theatre, we saw a screening of The Return Of The King (RotK).

All seats in the movie theater have brass nameplates, in which the name is engraved of the cast or crew member that sat there during the premieres. I sat in the producer Barrie M. Osborne's seat.

Wellington was our base of operation for the next two days. During our time here we stayed in the West Plaza Hotel.

In Wellington's suburb Miramar, in Camperdown Road, you find Weta Workshop. Not only set pieces and miniatres, but also all the costumes, arms and props in the LotR movies, were fabricated in these workshops. When we were visiting in the autumn of 2004, the crew were working on set pieces for King Kong. When they saw were were armed with cameras, they immediately started to cover up the props that were visable in the driveway.

Close to the airport, on the hill in Wexford Road, you have a good overview over the Stone Street Studios. These soundstages are well hidden and even at the entrance in Stone Street you will not find a reference to the studios.

Many interior scenes for all three Lord of the Rings movies were shot on these stages.

But also exterior shots were filmed here. The real life location of The Uruk-hai scene in TTT was complete rebuild in the parking lot for pick-up shots. And the swamp for the The passage of the Marshes in the same film was constructed here in the car park. Other fantasy movies that were filmed in these studios are King Kong and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.

On the road to Featherston we stop twice along the way. Our first stop lies on the outskirt of Wellington. In the Dry Creek Quarry on Hebden Crescent, the production crew built the giant Helms Deep set.

It took weeks of night time filming with many extras to complete the battle of Helms Deep for TTT. After the crew torn down the set, they reused the site to create the even bigger set of Minas Tirith for the RotK.

Our second stop is at Poet's Corner on the Hutt River. The river featured as River Anduin in the FotR. But also the scene when Arragorn gets rescued by Brego in TTT was filmed here. During filming Viggo Mortensen got dragged along by the strong undertow and almost drowned.

Featherston is a small town 50 km north east of Wellington. Here we visited the exclusive Fernside Resort. Unless you are on a Red Carpet Tour or a guest here (NZ$ 1.200 a day), you are not allowed on the grounds. Two important scenes were filmed in the gardens of the resort.

The first scene is from the FotR. The Farewell to Lórien sequence was set here. All the filming took place around the bridge over the little lake in the gardens. The bridge was given elegant arches to look Elven made. Also a big blue screen was put in, which was replaced in post-production with a digital matte painting. The big tree by the river side, where the boats dock is hugh set piece.

The second scene that was filmed here is the opening sequence of the RotK. In The Finding of the Ring, Deagol and Smeagol fight over the One Ring with Smeagol killing his cousin in the end. The grass and flowers on the river bed were also put in by the set dressers. Nick and Kristine repayed the scene for our group.

On our way back to Wellington, we made a stop at Harcourt Park near Brown Owl. The park is popular with young people, who come play here with their frisbees. Several scenes from the FotR were set here. The park featured as the gardens of Isengard. In the first scene we see Gandalf arrive on his horse. The poles alongside the path were set pieces. The second scene that was filmed here is the conversation between Sauroman and Gandalf. Although the trees and bushes have grown since, you can easily recognize the garden where the two wizzards wander around.

The last scene filmed here is The Spoiling of Isengard. Of cource no real trees in the park were torn down. All chopped down trees were set pieces from the Weta Workshop.

On our transfer day we flew from Wellington to Christchurch on New Zealand Airlines. At the time, New Zealand Airlines had decorated a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet with characters from the LotR movies. Unfortunately we flew on a smaller Boeing 737-300 from Qantas.

On top of our gate figured the giant Gollum creature that used to sit on the roof of the Embassy Theatre (see also higher).

It took us 5 days to cross the Northern Island. We visited many locations and saw numerous places where key scenes from The Lord of the Rings trilogy were filmed. It looked very promissing for the rest of our journey ...