Lord Of The Rings Tour Blog

Actually, Gondor is my favourite Lord of the Rings location and not because this is where I guide tours. As an artist I love the landscape here with the golden tussock grasslands used by film crew for many of the dramatic horse charges filmed in the Return of the King. This area is one of the flattest in New Zealand with around 200,000 hectares of alluvial outwash plains formed after the last ice age. Known locally as the Mackenzie Basin, the plains are completely surrounded by the mountains which lead up to the snow capped Southern Alps and Mount Cook. Going out to the location you cross one of the man made hydro canals filled with the amazing turquoise glacial waters from Lakes Tekapo and Pukaki so this is a place you want to bring your camera.

Each season brings a different light to the land, hoar frost crystallize the grasslands and leave fences looking like modern glass art and in winter the nearby snow capped mountains illustrate why they were used to represent the White Mountains between Rohan and Gondor. Occasionally, inversion cloud blankets the area reminiscent of conditions during parts of King Theoden’s speech or dark clouds above the mountains  give the brooding impression that Sauron is not far away. Bright sunny days (we only get an average of 66 days of rain a year here) showcase our cerulean blue skies with the gold grasslands. No matter what the weather conditions, you will have a great time and go home with a lot of fun photos.

On location you can get a number of photos that can be directly compared to different scenes in the Lord of the Rings (about eight scenes). The planning and logistics for this location were phenomenal, with 1500 people on set for the biggest day of filming.  There were age restrictions on those who could take part as actors and extras with several hundred horses involved making this some of the most challenging and potentially dangerous filming.

This location is on a private farm and access is restricted to avoid any accidental damage to the farm and stress to farm animals, so if you want to see the landscape as it is seen in the movies a tour is your only option and there are a few choices. You can visit nearby but even the guidebook for Lord of the Rings locations does not show a photo of the actual site.

Do have look at some of the photos I and others have taken on the Lord of the Rings location of Gondor.

The Hobbiton location for Lord of the Rings  and Hobbit movies is found on a private farm near Matamata. Nestled in beautiful rolling green hill country this site also had the perfect “party tree” and was transformed into Hobbiton in 1999.

Peter Jackson and scouting crew were actually turned away by the owners of the farm, the Alexander family, as they were involved in a very important event – watching a rugby game! The crew were very keen to have a proper look around and so came back after the game was finished and the rest is now cinema history.

Hobbiton as a location tour came about entirely by accident, wet ground conditions meant the film crew could not remove all of the remaining set and so Hobbit holes were left in place for some months waiting for conditions to improve. Over this time period, the owners soon had friends and other locals interested in having a look at what was left of the film set and the idea was born to start location tours. When I went on this tour in 2007, there were just  some of the hobbit hole frames in place and of course that fabulous party tree.

Peter Jackson and the Alexander family have formed a joint venture which means the rebuilt movie set is now made of permanent materials so visitors can experience Hobbiton exactly as it was in the movies. If you plan to visit do check in advance if tours are operating as with a lot of filming to be done there will most likely be periods when the location is shut to visitors.

In case you are wondering why there are no photos of the Hobbiton Lord of the Rings location with the rebuilt set, there are currently embargos on any photos taken during tours.

So will there be another Middle-earth location for the Hobbit films near Twizel? Peter Jackson latest update does mention the Mackenzie Country (where Twizel is located) and remote locations below Mount Cook.  Jackson has been seen here earlier in the year and we know of requests for a particular location near Twizel.

Currently, Jackson and a crew of about 17 are in the South Island looking for a number of locations to be used in the next scheduled block of Hobbit filming starting in early September. I did spot what Lake Pukaki and Lake Benmore from the footage of them scouting in helicopters from the below Youtube link at time 5.30 to 5.34, some footage looks like it could be filmed in conservation parks near Twizel. Much of the footage has that very distinct Central Otago look to them as well as the Glenorchy area.

Looking over Lake Pukaki and the mackenzie where Peter Jackson has indicated they will be filming locations for the Hobbit Movie

Jackson mentions that many of the locations have not been used before and are quite remote which brings about some logistical issues as they have to allow for up to 2 rugby fields worth of space for the equipment needed for filming the Hobbit movies at each location. Imagine travelling with that amount of equipment!

So perhaps if you are visiting the South Island in July and you spot a group of helicopters flying around you might just be seeing Peter Jackson investigating locations for the Hobbit movies near Twizel.

Production on The Hobbit movies is taking a break until early September so many cast and crew are off to catch up with friends and family. Many are travelling overseas for other work commitments like Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) who will be acting in The Syndicate in the UK while others are escaping our winter and catching up with family and friends. If you are down in the South Island you may see actor Peter Hambleton (Gloin) holidaying with his wife and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

No rest for director Peter Jackson, who will scouting South Island film locations over the next few weeks for the next block of filming, working out what designs need to be approved for sets and editing footage that has already been filmed.

With 254 days of filming scheduled for both movies over both 2011 and 2012, it is a tiring schedule even with the planned breaks, Peter Jackson says he is usually exhausted a few days into filming and just stays that way until a project is finished. Andy Serkis who is playing Gollum and directing the second unit for The Hobbit Movies commented that he does not know how Peter Jackson does it.

If you would like to learn more about this follow the below link to see some behind the scenes footage and hear what cast and crew of the Hobbit are up to during July and August.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO9lTlww7UU

Peter Jackson is going to make the The Hobbit movie a world first as it will be filmed at 48 frames per second and will be the first wide release feature film to be filmed at the higher rate.. So what makes this so special?

Over the last 90 years, the movies have been filmed at 24 frames per second, i.e. for every 1 second of footage 24 frames of images are captured, this was  mainly to keep costs down rather than for quality. With 35mm film you have to buy the negative and have the film developed and printed, so imagine the costs doubling if you went to 48fps, how much would movies then cost for us to watch?

There are also issues with 24fps, with fast movements you can get blurring and stuttering, 48fps will give a sharper and better image without the blurring. This will give a far superior experience in 2D and will reduce eyestrain for viewers in 3D.

Higher fps has been used before, mainly in theme parks like King Kong at Universal Studios. However, the digital age is changing this allowing movies to be filmed at higher fps, but this requires more bandwidth, storage and illumination. If you own a digital video camera that can film at 50fps you would notice considerably longer download times and need more computing power to be able to edit it and more hard drive to store it.

Warner Bros have been very supportive of Jackson filming in the new format and there is a possible a bit of risk involved for them as not many theatres are capable of showing this at present. It is hoped there will be considerably more  theatres capable of showing movies with a higher fps by the time The Hobbit movie part one is released in December 2012 giving a new experience to movie goers.

Richard Armitage will play Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movies.

Richard was born in Britain in 1971, at age 14 he went to Pattison College which specialises in the performing arts. His big career break was a leading role in  a TV miniseries called North and South, before going onto roles as Sir Guy in Robin Hood and Lucas in Spooks.



It was reported on the news that Sir Peter Jackson and Little River has sent food, water and other supplies from Wellington down to Christchurch to help the devastated city. Actor Mark Hadlow (who will play  Dori in The Hobbit) has been in Christchurch seeing first hand the damage created by Tuesday earthquake and checking upon family and friends.

A visibly emotional Hadlow commmented that “its catastrophic” and found it hard to express his feelings and impressions what had happened to his home city.

I was in Christchurch only last week and it is strange to see the damage, I feel for people who have lost friends and family, homes, jobs and their sense of security.

Many people will want to help and you can through donating to the Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, every little bit will make a big difference. As the Red Cross website has crashed you can try http://www.fundraiseonline.co.nz and choose Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Christchurch will rise again.

The Witch-king is the lord of the Ringwraiths – so called due to the affect of the rings of power which have made them spirit like and therefore they cannot be seen by mortal eyes. As Sauron keeps the rings which enslaved them only their clothes and weapons are visible giving them a terrifying menacing character.

Like all of the Ringwraiths, the Witch-king was once a man of influence enslaved by the one of the nine rings of power given to men by Sauron. The rings completely corrupted them bringing them into the thrall of Sauron to do his bidding.

For thousands of years the Witch-king has acted as one of Sauron’s most trusted servants, and lead armies into many battles.  He, along with the other 8 Nazgul laid siege to Mins Ithil (Tower of the Moon) in Gondor and took over it permanently after it fell after two long years of battle, when it was renamed Minas Morgul (The Tower of Black Sorcery).

Legend had always stated the Witch-king could not be killed by any man, however he is killed in the battle of Pelennor by Eowyn, the Shield Maiden of Rohan, who had disguised herself as a man.

Saruman was one of the Istari or Wise Wizards bought to Middle-earth to help overcome the Dark Lord. He was very wise and spoke with a compelling voice and was the leader of the White Council – an alliance of Elven leaders and Wizards against Sauron.

Saruman spent a lot of time studying Sauron’s evil devices to see if there was a way of defeating him. Over time Saruman desired to have more power and convinced himself could control the One Ring with the knowledge he had gained through his studies, he deceived his fellow members on the White Council in order to give himself time to find the One Ring for himself.  However he unwittingly became one of Sauron’s servants and did his bidding.

Saruman’s downfall was at the hands of the Ents who attacked Isengard after seeing the destruction of the forests that Saruman had ordered so he could create the armies and weapons of war that Sauron required. Later Gandalf  removed much of his power through breaking his staff and ordered Treebeard to guard him in the ruins of Isengard.

In Peter Jackson’s triology, Sauron is killed by Grima Wormtongue in Isengard, but in the books, Treebeard allows Saruman to leave feeling he is a weakened old man and no longer dangerous. However he takes petty vengence on the Shire with Grima, destroying much of the Shire and its surrounds and enslaving  many of the Hobbits. The returning Hobbits of the Fellowship of the Ring best Saruman who is then slain by his servant Grima.

In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Saruman was played by English actor Sir Christopher Lee .

Denethor  II- Steward of Gondor.

Denthor II, the Steward of Gondor acted as the King of the country after the last ruling king of Gondor went missing, as no one was entirely sure the King was dead, the stewards started to rule in perpetuity until time “the return of the king” of Gondor.

Denethor (father of Boromir and Faramir) was the final ruling steward of Gondor, he was once a wise and dignified man but over time became a secretive and solitary ruler refusing the help of Gandalf and Aragorn. Denethor was aware of Sauron’s increasing power and knew at some time Gondor would be attacked and  he often used the seeing stones (Palantiri – used by the Numenoreans in the ancient past to keep in contact with distant parts of the realm of Arnor and Gondor) to see what his enemy was up to. The Seeing Stones could be a dangerous and unreliable item to use, as many of the stones had become lost and no one knew exactly who possessed them (both Saruman and Sauron had a Palantiri in their control).

Use of the stone aged him prematurely and Sauron used it to set him on the path to insanity. After the death of Boromir and believing his son Faramir to be dead he set himself on fire and died during the War of the Ring.

Denethor II was played by Australian actor John Noble.