Today is a significant date, 81 years have passed since the publication of the novel "The Hobbit". JR Tolkien's wonderful novel makes us yearn for massive mountain ranges, mythical forests and mountain rivers. In this article, we will mention the incredible landscapes that appear in the series of films "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", based on the books of the same name, and we will tell you about the list of tourist spots in New Zealand that every fan of Middle-earth should visit at least once in their life.
1. Putanjirua Scenic Reserve, which is located in Wairarapa
Also Known As: Dead Man's Trail.
The eerie Pillars of Putanjirua are all that remain of the Aorang mountain range after seven million years of erosion, resurrected as the "Dead Man's Trail" in The Return of the King.
Three hiking trails lead to some pretty eerie peaks, but there is a campground nearby.
2. Mount Ngauruhoe, Tongariro National Park
Also Known As: Mount Doom
In Tongariro National Park, some of The Lord of the Rings' large-scale scenes were filmed with Mount Ngauruhoe (digitally) dubbed Mount Doom. Filming at the summit was banned because the summit is considered sacred in Maori culture; however, some of the scenes were filmed in the lower layers of the mountain.
The painting can be recreated along the footpaths that start from the Tongariro Visitor Center.
3. Matamata, Waikato
Also Known As: Hobbiton.
“Hobbiton had to be warm, comfortable and as if alive,” said the film's director Peter Jackson of finding a place for Hobbiton, the home of Frodo and Bilbo. He stopped at Matamata's farm and built an entire village to fit the proportions of hobbits.
“By letting the weeds grow through the cracks, creating hedges and small gardens a year before filming, we ended up with an amazing real-life village for more than just filming,” said the director. In 2011, a more permanent version of the village was created for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure - and it has since been transformed into a visitor center where you can have a drink at the Green Dragon Tavern and visit the End of the Bag (Bilbo's home).
4. Fiorddend National Park, Te Anau
Also Known As: Fangorn Forest.
This beautiful national park is dubbed as the mythical Fangorn Forest in The Two Strongholds. The park is spread over 1.2 million hectares of mountains, rainforest, lakes and fjords - an extraordinary location to explore on horseback, pretending to be Gandalf in his trusty Shadowfox.
5. Kawarau Gorge, central Otago
Also Known As: Anduin River.
As the Fellowship moved down the Anduin River in the first Lord of the Rings movie, they were greeted by two tower-like statues - and of course you won't see them in real life (they were created by post-processing magic), but the natural beauty of the area will overwhelm you.
6. Mount Sunday, Canterbury
Also Known As: Edoras
This gentle hill in the middle of a plain in the valley of the Rangitata River became the main city of the people of Rohan in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy.
7. Lake Pukaki, Canterbury
Also Known As: Laketown.
The stunning Pukaki Lake was chosen as the location for Laketown in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Glacial water feeds the lake, giving it a bright blue color.
The wide open complex built for The Hobbit Trilogy was set up at Tasman Downs Station on the shores of Lake Pukaki, but has since been dismantled. Instead of seeing it with your own eyes, let your imagination run wild.
8. Piopio, Vaitomo
Also Known As: Troll Show Forest.
This area in the Waitomo area provided terrain for the Trolshow Forest and Staddles Farm, which appears in a number of scenes from An Unexpected Journey.
The Denise Bluffs family farm provided for filming has had several different consequences. The owners, Susie and Warrick Denise, are now running Hobbit-themed tours on their property, so you can have a picnic in the same spot where Bilbo was nearly eaten by three hungry trolls.
9. River Pelorus
Also known as: Forest River.
Jackson chose the Pelorus River at the northern end of the South Isles for the Barrel Dwarf scene that appears in The Desolation of Smaug. Most of the scene was filmed in the studio, but Pelorus is the backdrop that really exists.
You can ride a high-speed kayak, which is much more comfortable than a barrel.
10.G. Ruapehu, Turoa
Also known as: Hidden Bay.
Mount Ruhapehu rises above the lowlands of the great Central Plateau of the Northern Islands. The rocky slopes of the mountain were the site of the Hidden Bay, the entrance to the Lonely Mountain in the "Wastes of Smaug".
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