Saturday, January 18, 2003
Ben's LOTR Tour Diary: Part 2 - Tehanu @ 03:14 PST
This the second part of a Tour Diary from Ben, who included the recent 'Premier' Red Carpet Tour of NZ LOTR locations in his extended world trip.

Day 88 - The Day I Lived in Wellington Airport ------

Today was just a day set aside to transfer from the North Island to the South Island. When I got into Christchurch I was immediately grabbed and dragged out for dinner then into a showing of the Two Towers. I knew it'd not be the same atmosphere as the showing after the premier and it gave me a very different view of the film to see it without the adrenaline pumping. It's still a very good film but I missed the atmosphere of the premier a lot, even though I was able to concentrate a lot more on the subtleties of the film. It was also a good chance to spot all of the locations we had visited since the premier.

Day 89 - The Day I Entered Edoras ------ Things I learned today: 1) Crossing streams in your boxers makes you look a fool on camera 2) I need more practice at following maps 3) No matter what age you are, climbing trees is still fun

Among the most dramatic scenery in The Two Towers is the grassy mountain valley in which the Rohan capital of Edoras is built. Almost no computer graphics are used in the creation of the town. Even a significant proportion of the city itself was constructed atop the rock hill that makes up the centre of the town. The only buildings that were computer generated were the houses at the base of the hill to the left.

Sadly none of the buildings remain but you can make out the locations for the royal burial cairns and the path leading up to the gate. Exploring the site was a bit like doing some archaeology, having to try and locate clues to the existence of different structures and line up terrain features to the few photos and memories we all had. The hill itself was easily recognisable from every angle but we all wanted to know exactly where the walls and halls were.

It was a bit like something out of Indiana Jones to actually make it to the top of the hill too. It's in the middle of a valley high up in the mountains and the coach can only get within a few kilometres of the hill, although it is visible for miles around. To get over the location itself we had to jump fences and streams, dodge thorn bushes and wade across ice cold rivers. We were faced with that eternal decision... to wade across the river without shoes and risk sharp stones or walk around squelching in ice water filled shoes all day. I chose the former, opting to save my jeans as well my paddling across the stream in my boxers instead. I'm sure I've ended up half a dozen photos like that and am more than a little worried about them ending up on the internet somewhere!! :) Once we got to the base of the hill it's a steep hike up to the top but once you are there the adrenaline buzz is amazing as it's one of the most recognisable places we've been to. I must have used an entire roll of film in the couple of hours we were there.

On the trip away from Edoras towards Twizel, our home for the night, we stopped for photos at two aquamarine lakes called Tekapo and Pukaki with views of the 12,000ft Mt Cook on the distant side of the lakes. These were beautiful in themselves but nothing today could compare to Edoras and its valleys. We also visited the site of the Battle of Pelanor fields from the third film but this was obviously hard to recognise since that film won't be released for another year (oh God a whole year to wait till the next one!).

The drive onto Twizel travelled along mountain valleys where the roads were lines with stripes of multicolours lupins. Sewn by a bored wife years ago to bring some colour to the valleys these flowers are actually, amazingly, classed as weeds and programs are in place to remove them. We couldn't really understand why as the stripes of pinks and purples in dozens of different shades look fantastic against the grey rock, green grass and yellow flowered gorse. Again, plenty of photo were taken there.

In the evening a few of us hired bikes for a sunset cycle and went around the town, through some small pine woodlands and down to the stream just as the sun had set. Some of us climbed the trees that hung out over the river whilst others huddled on benches beside it. All references to hobbits and elves shall dutifully be ignored....

Day 90 - The Day I Got Snapped Playing Horsey ------ Things I learned today: 1) Beware of impromptu photo opportunities 2) I make a frighteningly good prancing pony on camera 3) The Kiwi Experience bus is following me

This morning, after a photo opportunity at the clay cliffs, we drove up into the mountains to explore the pine woodlands used in the Great Chase scene from the first movie. Stepping out of the bus was like stepping out into a "Touch Œn Fresh" commercial with the scent of the pine trees hitting you straight away. Although we didn't see the exact route that the chase took (one pine tree looks very much like another), I could quite happily have spent all day walking through the woodlands. The trees were spread out enough so that there were a lot of pinecone strewn paths running between them and after a while the trees thinned to form small clearings and eventually fields with yellow flowers and swaying grass which were dotted with pine trees. In the far distance you could see a few grey triangular mountains with white snow on the caps. Any minute I expected some spinning brunette to come along the paths singing about the hills coming alive with the sound of something or other.

Far too soon (but with a slight delay to find a member of the party who'd gotten too enthusiastic and wandered off a bit too far) we headed off to our next meeting. This was meant to be a 15 minute meeting with a guy called Ian Brodie who wrote what has become our Bible (or at least out guide to the Bible) on this trip, the Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook.

He was such a nice guy though we ended up spending over and hour there just talking to him and looking through his collection of photos of the sites. He's got quite a few contacts inside the film companies so we were all subtly (and not so) trying to get hints about the 3rd film and any inside gossip. I was trying not to stare jealously at his ticket to the premier screening of the film which was hung on the wall but which I had last seen hung around his neck as he walked down the red carpet into the movie theatre. He also had a full size reproduction on Narsil, the ancient sword which is shattered in the first film. I've got to admit that I had more than a little trouble putting it down when I got to play with it! I wants it.... my precious! ;)

We had lunch at a gorgeous lakeside town called Wanaka. It could have been lifted right out of some of the nicest ski resorts in the Alps (in summertime of course!). There was a brief stop at a fruit farm where I pigged out on raspberries reminding me of a very happy time when I did that in the UK (stomach cramps and all!!) then onto one to the prettiest towns I have ever seen. Arrowtown is by a river running over shallow shalestone bordered by trees and filled with mature oaks and ash. It looks like one of those perfect towns you see on American films, usually the type which get wiped out by fire, flood or volcano shortly afterwards.

Of course, there is a Lord of the Rings reasons for stopping off here. The river was used for part of the scene where Arwen defeats the nine riders by causing the river to rise and wash them away. Although there was so much computer trickery in this scene it was hard to recognise the exact spot it was still familiar and a very nice place to visit. There was another local reporter to avoid but she only really wanted to interview the most dedicated fans so I was happily able to slip away to explore a while until we had to catch the bus to Queenstown.

This is the last hotel stop on our tour, but we get to spend 4 nights here which will be really nice to be based in one place for a lot longer than normal... I can unpack!! Top priority though when we got into town was food and then a really nice walk along the coast and into the parkland beside coloured fountains and white bandstand right out of a cheesy romance. Not that I'm complaining of course!!

Day 91 - The Day I Was a Warg ------ Things I learned today: 1) Cinema makes everything seem bigger 2) I‚m very glad I‚ve never been to an adult cinema then! 3) The rafting grading system makes no sense, even to people who grade them

This morning we took a coach up a very steep and twisting road clearly marked "no coaches allowed." Since we made it back down in one piece I can still call Vic our tour guide sane, and can commend the coach driver's skills at getting round hairpin bends.

The purpose of this seemingly irrational drive was to get us up a steep hill in the middle of the river valley leading up to Queenstown to visit Deer Park Heights. This was where 2 of the very recognisable scenes from the 2nd film were shot: the scene where the refugees from Rohan walk around a lake and the scene where the Roharrim cavalry fends off the Warg riders (like a giant dog) before they get to the refugees.

The lake was instantly recognisable, as were several of the shots from the cavalry battle. The strange thing with these sites, as with many of the others from the film, was that they all appeared to be much smaller than they did on the cinema screen. You can get a good impression of it though if you persuade some poor souls to pretend to be refugees and limp badly around the lake whilst others take photos.

Since I got to take photos of the "refugees"I somehow ended up having to recreate another scene from the film: that of the Warg scout silhouetted against the grey sky on a rock ridgeline. How it is that I get compared to a Warg and orc rider I'm not sure... but then again I haven't really looked in a mirror in a while!

The hilltop itself was quite bleak itself but gave stunning views of the surrounding terrain. A blind man could take good photos in New Zealand it's so much like kicking swinging cats in a barrel (or something like that). It's not surprising many people are getting through a roll and a half of film a day. I'm glad I have all the extra memory for my camera too.

The afternoon saw the start of many of the optional activities so people in the group separated off according to preferences. 4 of us chose to go white water rafting, mainly for the activity itself but we chose the particular river because it goes right past the site of the Pillars of Argonath, which was really recognisable once we got there (even without the computer generated pillars).

This site was right at the beginning of the raft, just before the bridge from which the original commercial bungee jump still operates. We got the rare opportunity of seeing maniacs get dunked underwater using an elastic band with big aspirations from the opposite end of the drop to usual. I'm still not so sure of it myself.

For almost another hour the rafting went quite sedately. I was the only person apart from the guide who‚d been rafting before but even that one experience didn't totally prepare me for these rapids (although I was embarrassed when she was explaining the various commands that I found myself jumping to obey them even when she was just saying their names because it had been so well drilled into me the last time! :P ). Whereas the grade V listed Tully River I was rafting on last time had little water in it and a lot more rocks, the grade IV listed Kawarau River which I was on this time was a very fast flowing, deep river that was 15C cooler than the tropical Tully.

According to the ratings system, this river was one grade safer than the last one I was on. It certainly seemed it, with fast flowing but clear water along almost the entire length. It gave us plenty of time to practice and we were even allowed a swim down on of the rapids where a few of us linked arms and formed a daisy chain as we raced along that section of rapids.

As usual with my writing though, the "almost" in the above paragraph is the all-important thing. The reason we needed all that practice along the 50-minute smooth sections of the river was because the last section of the rapids is very different indeed. Instead of fast flowing but smooth water, this final section called "Dog Leg" has very fast flowing white water. Not white water like on the Tully either which is mainly formed by water flowing against rocks, but white water formed because the waves are 2-4 metres tall from trough to tip.

We rounded a corner into sight of these rapids we‚d been warned about for nearly an hour and all emitted a nervous/excited laugh. They seem to start abruptly, going from smooth tranquil water to big white foaming waves. One second we're sailing along pleasantly psyching ourselves up to hit these rapids, the next we're on a rollercoaster ride paddling like crazy and bracing ourselves for each rush down the other side of a wave and the jar as we hit the crest of the next.

I was tempted to not mention it, but all the practice we‚d had didn‚t quite pay off and somehow we managed to beach the raft on a tree branch at the edge of the middle bend in the rapids. The guide was absolutely cringing as she realised what a ribbing she was going to get from the other guides later on. To be fair to her I don't think it was her fault, or anybody's in particular, but we all had to struggle to push ourselves off the branch and back into the rapids. All part of the fun though... at least it made the rapids last longer!! :)

In the evening I bowed to group pressure and went to see the Two Towers again to spot more scenes. It's strange but so many people have been quoting lines from the film in jest whilst we‚ve been on the bus that when they are delivered in the film they seem wrong somehow! :D

Day 92 - The Day I Finally Got Flight Sick ... Very Flight Sick ------ Things I learned today: 1) My stomach is not invincible 2) Another scenic flight is not just another scenic flight 3) Don't ask the waitress to choose a wine for you without checking price!

Of all of the trips the people on the first half of the tour had talked about from when they visited the south island on their own there was one which stood out above all of the others: the scenic flight. Now I was a little sceptical since my last scenic flight had been little more than a pleasant but expensive way to spend 15 minutes but the recommendations were so strong that I didn‚t think I could pass up this 2 hours trip around (or above) about a dozen locations from the film.

I'd actually have to locate the pamphlet to remember all of the ones we flew above (whilst taking in a lot of the other scenery as well) but all I can say about the flight is... WOW! (Wonderful Or What??!) The problem with the Fraser Island must have been the lack of 2 dimensional features and the blandness of the terrain because this flight had none of that.

Huge mountains jutting out of the green valleys with snow on their 10,000 foot peaks, their grey chasm valleys filled to an even level with dark green fir trees, were separated from each other by narrow gorges with gushing white water flowing between their yellow cliff walls. The field in the valleys were cultivated or covered with the small fluffy white dots of hundreds of grazing sheep. Only 5 of us went on this particular tour but the small Cessna planes were so tiny that it still took two of them to get us all into the air. It was quite fun to be able to see the other group a few hundred metres away in the other plane.

The first leg of the flight took us along the river valley I rafted yesterday, above where the Pillars of the Argonaths were added, before banking the plane 450 degrees and flying between 2 giants peaks into the valley used for Isengard and its dark tower. Just for comedy effect, there's a sheep barn almost exactly where the tower should have been. :)

We did a couple of flybys to chase the sheep off the field that was to be the runway for the mid-flight stop and landed right in the middle of the valley. It's easily recognisable from the film but would have been worth the visit even without such a major location being located there. I've taken some of the best photos so far, with more snow capped mountains, green forests, rolling hills and running blue streams per square inch than any other photo so far. I'm sure there should be a law against standing in such beautiful scenery. The farmers who work there would never be able to complain about their lives if it were not for the "brisk" breeze blowing off the mountains carrying the scent of snow on them which would become a mild discomfort in winter.

Along the edges of the paddocks is a forest. Not just any forest though, but the forests of Paradise itself. In these aptly named, moss carpeted green woodlands scenes from Lothlorian and Amon Hen were filmed. There's one patch of ground you can almost picture Boromir speaking his last words on. Sadly we couldn't explore the woodlands but just walking along the edges with the mountains (and sheep!) all around me was wonderful.

The second leg of the trip took in many more sights but I have to admit that I wasn't able to crane my neck to look at them that well. The wind had picked up considerably, as it had on the rather messily ending flight the day before that many other people from the tour had been on, and Casper (no hallucinations and no friendly ghosts but another pomme on the trip with me) and I were getting ready to fight over the one "emergency flight illness receptacle" on board. We both admitted on landing that if the flight had gone on for another 2 minutes it might have had to come to blows or we‚d have had to work out some kind of joint custody arrangement for the bag.

We did however fly over the location for Gandalf's ride along the ridge line going to Isengard, the site where the Roharrim attacked the Orc camp and Fangorn Forest. There were others and the pilots were able to give us some great stories about when they ferried the cast and crew around between the locations. I think someone on the tour could easily publish a book of them all as most have never been told to the main audience.

When we got back from the flight Vic drove a few of us out to 3 more locations from the film which are close to Queenstown. We saw the location for the ruins atop Amon Hen where Aragorn fights the Uruk Hai for the first time. This was really easy to spot despite the fact it was clear a lot of computer graphics had been used and there were obviously none of the ruins left atop the hill.

The other two locations were harder to recognise because we don‚t think they appeared in the 2nd film, although they may be in the special edition. The Twelve Mile Delta was used in some of the Ithilian camp scenes and we found the spot some of the publicity shots were taken in although none of us could remember them from the film.

The final site is unknown even to Ian Brodie, author of the Lord of the Rings Locations Guidebook (although I'm sure he'll be finding out what was filmed there very soon). There was apparently some kind of metalwork on site that used to be covered in polystyrene until someone tried to cut the metal with an acetylene torch whilst the polystyrene was still attached (giving a wonderful bonfire but little else). It'll be interesting to find out what was actually filmed there as it's a very scenic valley and could fit several locations from the books. I'll definitely be trying to spot it in the next film or the special editions.

In the evening many of us (eventually) gathered in quite a posh bar along the waterfront to spend the rest of the evening together. It was quite a flip from last year's antics on Christmas Eve involving a hairy Welshman, an inflatable sheep and most of my childhood friends. Not necessarily better, just very, very different. If you'd told me this time last year that I'd be sat in a New Zealand waterfront bar exactly a year and thirteen hours later I'd never have believed you. In fact, I'm still not sure I believe it.

Day 93 - The Day I Spent My First Christmas Away from Home ------ Things I learned today: 1) Santa doesn't come when you aren't at home 2) Buying yourself presents always seems to work 3) It doesn't really feel like Christmas

It's a very bizarre feeling. For almost a month now I've been having to mentally block the sight of decorated Christmas trees on the same grass verges as palm trees, and pretend the Christmas carols playing in malls are just very bad elevator music, but now that Christmas day is finally here I'm not having a problem because it just feels so far away from the Christmas I'm used to at home that it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all.

Everyone else is saying the same thing. Being separated from old friends and family, without the build up towards Christmas that everyone usually has to deal with, and with the distractions of a holiday in a foreign country in summer means none of us really realises what we are missing at home. Which, as far as we're all concerned, is great. I don't think anyone really wants to think about being away from home at Christmas, especially because for most of us this is our first Christmas away from home. I think the situation would have been very different if we hadn't bonded as well as we have as a group and today's Christmas dinner is more like a good meal to finish off the trip with. It's a really nice way for things to end.

It was always shaping up to be a bizarre Christmas. This morning's jet boat ride was cancelled because of the freezing storm that was raging further up the valley but we got a nice coach tour through the countryside. Afterwards a group of us relaxed in the hotel bar until we took the scheduled gondola (cable car) ride up to the mountaintop restaurant that looks out over the town, lake and surrounding mountains. We'd been looking at the restaurant for days wondering how odd it was going to be being up there on Christmas day instead of being at home. I think the best surprise for all of us was that it wasn't really hard at all. Being surrounded by what for many has become an extended family, eating a good meal and enjoying spectacular views which were revealed after the clouds lifted showing us that they'd deposited a layer of fresh snow around all of the mountain tops.

After the meal we relaxed by an open fire in the bar before moving to the comfier sofas in the lounge to make all the goodbyes we'd all been dreading. Although the tour officially breaks up tomorrow, tonight will be the last time we are together as a group as many leave for different places early tomorrow morning, including myself.

We finally had to make to move for the gondola ride back down to the town. People hung around in silence, not knowing really what to say but not wanting to go their own ways. A few of us must have hung around at the bottom of the hotel stairs for at least an hour, not talking about anything in particular, just reliving the trip and enjoying what little we had left of each other's company.

I'm very, very glad I chose to take this tour over Christmas and hope to meet up with the people again and again. Many are talking about the "Return of the Tour" next year. Anyone care to sponsor me for a return trip?? :P

Ben ( benwielgus@hotmail.com )