Tolkien’s middle-earth

As the road dips and crests on the undulating terrain along the brilliant blue waters of Lake Wakatipu, it has a constant companion in the towering peaks of the Southern Alps. Welcome to the Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island. The whole scene is so breathtaking that the frequent viewing stops created along the way are packed with vehicles.     

However, it is near the Southeastern part of the lake that things get rather more dramatic. The mountain range delineates into a set of snow-capped peaks and is evocatively named The Remarkables mountain range.

This is also where fans of The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) series will experience a moment of déja vu: it is these peaks that are the most visual representation of the legendary 900-mile Misty Mountains that stretches across Middle-earth in JRR Tolkien’s fantasy world.  

In fact, the LOTR theme is such a leitmotif in and around Queenstown, in the heart of the Otago region, that it is difficult to travel even a few miles without stumbling on a reference. 
But it is passionate fans like Ben of Nomadic Safaris who help discover hidden locations. Such as the delightful scene where Frodo and Samwise lay prone over the edge of a little cliff and look into the valley where oliphants are passing by. 

As we zip along the winding road alongside Wakatipu, Ben embarks on one story after another. In a sea of Kiwi accents, he stands out for being distinctly British. A Manchester boy, his passion for LOTR brought him to New Zealand’s South Island and his bag of tales seemed bottomless. Scenes from the movies, anecdotes from the shooting, movie trivia, are interspersed with questions thrown at random.   
At Glenorchy, a pretty little settlement at the northern tip of Lake Wakatipu with picture-postcard houses and stunning scenery, Ben points out the locations of various LOTR scenes from the first film of the series. 

Ahead of Glenorchy, a bumpy gravel path passes through wide open grasslands and ends at Paradise, a rural area on the East bank of the Dart river. The name seems incredibly appropriate. A misty, surreal haze hangs over the whole area, giving it an ethereal, dreamlike quality. Ben’s enthusiasm is indefatigable as he goes back and forth between pictures of movie scenes and the scenery around, pointing to references of Isengard, Lothlorien... and to other movies such as X Men Origins: Wolverine, Mission Impossible series and Chronicles of Narnia. 

On the way back, the path passes through thick forests of towering sycamore, beech and willow, at the bottom end of Mount Aspiring National Park. It seems magical and also oddly familiar. And then the penny drops as Ben quickly draws attention to the many references of Fangorn Forest, of various fight scenes from the movies, especially the battle of Amon Hen.