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Glenorchy Air's van picked us up at 2pm and took us to the Queenstown Airport on New Zealand's South Island. There, we boarded a six-seater plane for the Two-Ring Trilogy Tour, along with a few other sightseers. Our pilot, Steve, was also our guide.
Seeing Rohan by Air November 22, 2004
Ttrealtravels2005-12-26 15:33:30
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Glenorchy Air's van picked us up at 2pm and took us to the Queenstown Airport on New Zealand's South Island. There, we boarded a six-seater plane for the Two-Ring Trilogy Tour, along with a few other sightseers. Our pilot, Steve, was also our guide.
This was the first private plane sized aircraft either of us had ever been in, and may I say it was cramped and well... private! We took the wee plane right from Queenstown airport via Glenorchy Air, and wow, what a ride! Two other folks were with us, plus the pilot/guide, so five of the six seats were filled total. Trystan and I sat in the back two seats.
I can't stand airplanes as it is (yeah, I know, world traveler, but I hate flying -- go figure), and this ride was the bumpiest, most "flying" of flying experiences ever. Every time the plane pitched, slipped, or yawed, we felt it. Every pocket of air made the plane move like it was attached to a ball in a socket. Yikes! Luckily, the flight time was less than an hour round-trip.
The plane followed the Kawarau River, a.k.a. the River Anduin, for a bit, then passed further east. Over patchwork farmlands and deep brown rocky hills, we passed the towns of Cromwell and Alexandra. Out in the middle of seemingly nowhere was the Poolburn Reservoir, which we landed about 1km from. Some sheep loitered on the small, grassy airstrip, so Steve had to buzz them once or twice to shoo the flock away.
Immediately upon landing, we recognized Rohan as seen extensively in The Two Towers. Golden brown hills as far as the eye could see, splotched with grassy tussocks. Jagged black rock formations jutted out of the ground at odd angles.
Steve walked us down the field a ways and showed us a unique rocky canyon. In this gully with ragged black rocks overhanging, several scenes were filmed from the Lord of the Rings. This was where orcs carried the kidnapped
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See photographs from:
New Zealand Gallery
