Birthday alert; today is my twin nephews' birthday, so a very happy birthday to Sebastian and Benjamin. I hope you're going to have a most excellent day.
Today has been another superb day; another Lord of the Rings day, so I'll probably need to apologise to anyone who is not a fan.
Away from the hotel at 07:00 after picking up a coffee at the coffee bar near the hotel front door (it looks like they do a great breakfast there, so that may be worth a look when I have a bit more time). A 20 minute drive to the base of Nomad Tours, and checked in with around 20 minutes to spare. We departed at 07:50, and after one pickup made our way onto the Glenorchy road and waited for another couple of vehicles. We were in 4wd land rovers, and there were just the three of us plus the driver/guide in our vehicle.
Once we were all gathered, we formed a convoy (can three vehicles be referred to as a convoy?) and set off towards Glenorchy. The first stop was at 12 mile creek for some information about how the valley we are in was formed by glaciation. We learned that until ten thousand years ago the lake had been 300 metres higher, but then a huge earthquake opened a crack near Queenstown that drained the lake to it's current level, forming a gorge as it did so.
Then onwards and through Glenorchy, and we travelled down a gravel road to a place called Paradise. The guides had picture books with some scenes from the films, and we were able to see that the mountains here had been used as the backdrop for Isengard. I remember walking in the Isengard gardens a few weeks ago on the Wellington Lord of the Rings tour, so it's interesting how they could meld together two distant locations to provide one scene.
This was also the location where they built Beorn's house on the forest edge for The Hobbit, so it's also interesting how one location in real life can be used for various locations in the films.
Onwards into Mount Aspiring National Park, and through the woodland where the battle happened at the end of Fellowship of the Ring (you know, the one where Sean Bean was used as a pin cushion and met his end as Boromir) and where the Ents lived .... although we didn't stop here. We continued on to a very scenic spot where we stopped for tea, and those who wanted to dressed up in cloaks and waved swords about.
Then back through Glenorchy, and a stop at 25 mile creek, and the site of Ilithien. Picture the scene if you will; Smeagol/Gollum has just caught a couple of rabbits, and is complaining when Sam cooks them ... 'stupid fat hobbit, you ruins it ....' ..... we went to the site of this scene where the firepit is still there.
At the end of this scene, they hear a noise and look over a cliff at an army there with oliphants, and then get captured by Faramir and taken to a cave behind a waterfall. Just yards from the campfire site was this lookout spot.
From here, we returned to Queenstown. There were two of us on the full day tour, so we stopped off at Bagels and Balls for a quick but very tasty lunch before meeting up with the afternoon's group at 13:20.
This afternoon we were to follow a loop path around Queenstown with some Lord of the Rings locations thrown in. The first stop was at the same Queenstown Hill outlook spot that I found yesterday afternoon, so after a quick stop here we were on our way again.
Onto the gorge that was carved the thousand years ago that I mentioned earlier, and the site for the first commercial bungee jump company, but looking the other way was another location. The river that runs through the gorge was used to add the Argonath to; the giant statues of the kings of Gondor. The statues were added as a special effect.
What was interesting here was the tale that Peter Jackson contacted the wife of Viggo Mortenson (who played Aragorn) to get pictures of his grandparents, and then the giant statues were carved with their faces. Viggo wasn't told, so it was a surprise for him at the premier.
From here, we moved onto Arrowtown; the epicentre of the gold rush in 1862. We drove down a gravel track, engaged the 4 wheel drive and proceeded to drive down a river; more of a zig zag down the river really as we seemed to be continuously crossing from bank to bank on our way downstream. We pulled up on a gravel bank, and while we had a cup of tea some gold pans were unloaded and filled with the gravels.
We then had a go at panning; something that I've watched in so many videos so was very keen to have a go at. I tried a couple of pans, but didn't find any gold at all; not even a tiny little fleck (but I didn't have my glasses on so who knows .... the guide didn't find anything in my pan anyway).
Then back up the river to escape the flies that by now has swarmed around me (no bites again so this repellent works) and after a few miles on the highways another gravel road along Skippers Canyon and Skippers Road.
This is a road that is considered dangerous; hire cars are not insured along this piece of road, and as we drove along there were wrecked cars that had gone over the edge. I wonder whether they were left as a warning, or because they were too expensive to recover? The road itself was built to help with the gold rush, but after taking seven years to complete the rush was all but over.
We drove about 20 minutes along this road to an outlook just past Hells Gate and Heavens Gate before turning to retrace our steps and return to Queenstown for the hotel drop offs before I was returned to their base.
Then the 25 minute rush hour drive back to my hotel (I really don't miss rush hour drives!) and a visit to the local supermarket to pick up some dinner (and tea bags as I've run out) before settling for the evening of blogging and updating the video. Oh, and wishing Ben and Seb a very happy birthday.
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