New Zealand: five places to experience Middle-earth for yourself

After several years without a new Lord of the Rings adaptation, “The Rings of Power” debuts September 2nd on Amazon Prime and takes viewers to Middle-earth. The setting for the series is New Zealand again with its beautiful otherworldly locations, which also served as a backdrop in the previous films. Most of them can be visited. Travelcircus.de recommends these five tour operators for your next trip to the island nation.

Shire in Matmata

The place where The Lord of the Rings begins is Hobbiton in the Shire. One feels like Frodo and Bilbo Baggins near the New Zealand town of Matamata, where the movie set remained an attraction after the end of “The Hobbit” and today it draws tourists. It is said that film director Peter Jackson flew over a mountain sheep farm and knew immediately that hobbits lived there. “Hobbiton” can be seen under A tour guide expertise.

The Rivendell at Kaitoke Regional Park

Not only comrades gather in Rivendell. Kayakers, bird watchers and hikers also converge on Kaitoke Regional Park near Wellington. In each of Tolkien’s filmed trilogies, the park served as a filming location for the sheltered Riven Valley, where Elbe Elrond provides refuge for hobbits. In honor of the fantasy epic, an Elven Gate was built in the New Zealand jungle. Hiking and kayaking trails can be found on the property Park site.

At the foot of Mount Erebor on Lake Bukaki

One understands why Aoraki (Mount Cook) near Christchurch had to serve as Mount Erebor in the “Hobbit” film trilogy. It rises majestically over Lake Pukaki. It is easy to believe that inside the mountain massif there is a huge nugget of gold guarded by a dragon. At 3,724 meters it is the highest mountain in New Zealand. If you want to face the dragon, you can climb the mountain in Mount Cook National Park to rise. Near the lake there is also the town of Twizel, near which the decisive battle of Minas Tirith was filmed – most of the soldiers in the film were played by the inhabitants of Twizel, who volunteered as extras.

Where to ride Rohirrim

At the foot of Mount Sunday in the Hakatere Conservation Park, the creators of The Lord of the Rings trilogy laid the capital of the country of Rohan, famous in Tolkien’s story for breeding horses and knights. It is easy to believe that the finest horses in Middle-earth could have been bred on the plains around Canterbury. Trees are rare in the long, flat valley about two hours from Christchurch.

While hiking, your eyes stumble upon sparse jungles, the Ranjitata River and small hills in front of the distant mountain range in the background. It’s a car park at the end of a gravel road You can hike on the mountain, as the capital city of Edoras was built for nine months for the epic film. Nothing remains of the collection, other than the natural beauty of the area.

to Mount Destiny

Mount Ngauruhoe is a picture book volcano. Quite conical, dark stone, sometimes puffs of smoke rise from the chimney. So what volcano would be more suitable than this for the formation of the One Ring and its eventual destruction. Accordingly, Peter Jackson chose the relatively young volcano, which last erupted in the mid-1970s, as Mount Doom. When Frodo and his hobbit friend Sam march across Mordor toward Mount Doom in the final part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mount Ngoroh looms on the horizon. The New Zealand volcano, along with two other volcanoes, belongs to Tongariro National Park.

Other places in New Zealand as described in Middle-earth travelcircus.de.