All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
Road-tripping through the North Island of New Zealand is a delight in endless spellbinding views. From ocean cliff-side (read: nail-biting) winding roads to barren and windy desert to lush forests, valleys, and mountains. It’s no wonder New Zealand is the chosen filming location for sweeping fantasy epics.
The next leg of our journey took us from the sulfurous air of Rotorua down to Upper Hutt, which is just outside of Wellington. This was one of our longest drives yet, taking State Highway 1 down (which ended up being around a 6-hour journey, whew so much driving). Luckily, driving in New Zealand is just about the polar opposite of driving in California: one lane roads and little to no traffic.
Our first Lord of the Rings stop was about 2 hours in at:
Mount Doom
A portion of this drive is through the so-called Desert Road which passes on the edges of Tongariro National Park: the home of Mount Doom (known in New Zealand as Mount Ngauruhoe). As the name implies, the Desert Road is barren and remote – a perfect setting for Mordor.
Mt Ngauruhoe itself is an imposing volcano, that looks exactly how you’d imagine a volcano to be: a sloping conical shape with dark shoulders leading to a foreboding craggy opening at the summit.
We were in awe as it came into view.
For the brave, you can actually follow in the footsteps of Frodo and Sam’s journey and hike Mount Doom. Albeit an active volcano, secret entrances or caves filled with lava for prime ring destroying don’t exist, but for experienced hikers, it looks like an amazing climb nonetheless.
Something to note: In Boromir’s famous words, “One does not simply walk into Mordor”, and that proves true here – the hike is challenging and you should be well prepared before undertaking it. There’s a great blog detailing what it’s like to climb the volcano and some considerations here.
For us, gazing at it from afar by the side of the road was enough, and we were soon back in the car for the next leg of our journey to:
Rivendell
Rivendell, the home of Elrond Half-Elven, is a beautiful hidden valley that, in the film, is surrounded by rushing waterfalls and delicate bridges passing over bubbling streams. While in reality, the waterfalls were made through the magic of CGI, the actual location is still enchanting even without them.
The real-life location for Rivendell is Kaitoke Regional Park in Upper Hut, New Zealand. The set was dismantled long ago, but there is a wealth of signage pointing you to where everything was, and a replica of the elvish archway that Frodo and company pass through as they leave Rivendell on their quest.
We arrived in Upper Hut after a terrifying 40 minutes on a mountain road that hugged a sheer cliff and had only one lane to accommodate two directions of traffic. My heart was in my throat the whole time. A sarcastic thank-you to Google for that “shortcut”. After surviving that ordeal, we checked into our hotel, then drove to Kaitoke Regional Park to explore while we still had sun. Driving for a million hours had us eager to walk around and get our blood flowing.
Rivendell was very easy to find, with a parking lot located near to the filming location. It was fun to walk in the footsteps of the Fellowship and imagine what it would be like if the elvish structures and waterfalls actually surrounded us. We had the area mostly to ourselves with only a couple other people passing through. I’m not sure if this was just our luck or if it was because of us visiting in the off-season, but the peacefulness of the park was lovely. I’m going to give off-season travel another point for this one.
After strolling through the area we walked over to a swing bridge, to face my mild fear of heights, and explore a little more of the area.
We eventually found our way down to the river where this really became one of the most magical days of our New Zealand trip when my boyfriend proposed! More on that in a future post.
We stayed the night in Upper Hut (and caught one of the last Game of Thrones episodes, because even though we were on vacation we couldn’t miss it), then headed on to Wellington.
Weta Cave & Workshop
From awesome swords, (surprisingly expensive to make) dwarf noses, to amazing miniatures and more – the Weta Cave Workshop creates some of the most stunning movie magic. Visiting New Zealand, and being a huge Lord of the Rings fan, this was a cant-miss opportunity.
The Weta Cave & Workshop are located in the Miramar suburb of Wellington, and we arrived early to find parking on the street. Outside of the shop are three trolls you might recognize from The Hobbit.
Entering through a hobbit-shaped doorway, we picked up our tickets, then roamed the shop. So many things to buy so little money. Sword replicas, prop replicas, miniatures, figures, the list goes on. Inside there is also a mini-museum (and mini means mini) of figurines and movie props/weapons.
The tour began from the shop, and our guide took us through an interesting look into what they make and how they do it. Photos were not allowed, unfortunately, due to licensing restrictions. We were shown the process of how they created dwarf helmets and chain-mail and were treated to some fun behind-the-scenes stories of the making of The Lord of the Rings – such as Orlando Bloom’s penchant for breaking expensive bows.
I was struck by a miniature version of Sean Bean as Boromir (the face looked exactly like him!) laying in a case near the end of the tour. This is what was placed in the boat that went over the waterfall near the end of the first film. They also had Sauron’s armor on display, and so many other amazing things to gawk at.
One of the best parts was the room where we were allowed to touch things (most of the tour you are prohibited from touching the props). They had the different types of chain-mail created for the film: I was enamored with the examples of Frodo’s mithril shirt (really beautiful and unique to pick up – almost like cloth), real chain-mail (Viggo Mortensen apparently decided to wear this to be more authentic) which was surprisingly heavy, and the much lighter fake chain-mail they created to look real but not have the heft.
Touring through the workshop was an inspiring experience, it really made me want to create something.
What we missed
One location that I really wanted to visit, but we didn’t end up having time for was the Paths of the Dead, or by the real-life name: the Putangirua Pinnacles. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, this is the place Aragorn goes to see some dead people about an army.
They’re a really interesting looking rock formation nearby Wellington, but with our road-trip inhibited by a scheduled ferry ride to the South Island we couldn’t make it out.
Almost every New Zealander we spoke with about our road-trip told us 2-weeks isn’t enough time to really see everything both islands have to offer, and they’re right! I was really feeling this near the end of the trip as our departure flight date loomed over us. Some say 3-weeks might cut it, but maybe, even more, to really take everything in at a leisurely pace.
Getting There
Driving from Rotorua to Wellington definitely is a long journey, but worth it for everything you can see. We took State Highway 1 most of the way.
Accommodation:
Upper Hutt: we stayed at the Wallaceville Motor Lodge, and it was a true hidden gem. We traveled during the last season of Game of Thrones, so the humongous smart TV in the room allowed us to watch it when it premiered (and avoid spoilers). The hotel/motor lodge itself is beautiful and even hosts weddings – which speaks to its aesthetic.
Wellington: we splurged on the Grand Mercure Wellington, and felt fancy. The hotel was nice, but definitely outside of our normal budget (the only reason we stayed here was that we got a deal on the room).
Cost:
Mount Doom & Rivendell are both free to visit
Weta Cave Workshop Tour: $28 NZD
book from their website
Looking for some more Middle-Earth?
Read about my journey to Hobbiton here
or my trip out to Edoras here
Clumsy Adventurer 