Home » New Zealand » Heading South on the North Island November 15, 2004

Just outside of Tongariro National Park, in Ohakune, we visited the Powderhorn Chateau where the Lord of the Rings cast and crew lodged during filming. The very nice receptionist brought out the visitor's book so we could see where the stars signed and what they said.<br/><br/>

Heading South on the North Island November 15, 2004

Ttrealtravels
2005-12-26 15:53:07

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Just outside of Tongariro National Park, in Ohakune, we visited the Powderhorn Chateau where the Lord of the Rings cast and crew lodged during filming. The very nice receptionist brought out the visitor's book so we could see where the stars signed and what they said.

Sean Astin (Sam in the films) was particularly fond of the hotel and stayed there twice -- once with his wife and kid too. Dominic Monaghan (who played Merry) made a cheeky comment about the "ravishing receptionist" (not the one we met, she blushingly admitted). Billy Boyd (the movies' Pippin) wrote his home location as "some strange place in my head."

From the Powderhorn, it was a 13km drive up the twisty mountain road to the Mangawhero Falls, site of a memorable scene in The Two Towers. The rocky riverbed above the falls served as Gollum's stream.

Scrambling over the boulders chasing a fish, Gollum eventually caught it and ate the fish "raw and wriggling," much to Sam's disgust. The spot was freezing cold but beautiful and scenic. We even tramped through the wet trees to view the actual falls, which have quite a drop.

The Ring went south, and so did we. Down the long drive on SH1, we headed towards Wellington. About an hour north of the city is the Waitarere Forest. About 10km off the highway, just past the town sign, is a private road that leads to a scenic part of the forest.

A few meters farther down the Waitarere Road is an official sign for the forest. Go down this road, park at the gate, and you can walk deep into the forest.

At both spots, you'll see why this area was used for several Middle Earth locations. Trollshaw Forest, west of Rivendell, was seen as the Fellowship left the Elven haven and encountered the stone trolls Bilbo told of (this scene is only in the extended version of the first movie).

This place was also Osgiliath Wood where Frodo and Sam encountered Faramir in the second film. And the forest was fleetingly shown when Arwen walked in mourning for Aragorn in a flash-forward scene from The Two Towers.

The Waitarere Forest was very recognizable compared to my memory of the films. Trystan may be the big fan, but I keep telling myself that even if these sites weren't related to the films, they're neat to see anyway.

This was the most pristine, undisturbed forest I've seen in quite some time, perhaps since days tramping around England or the Sierras. And with no one around, the isolation was great.