Lord of the Rings Tour of Wellington

If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan planning a trip to New Zealand, you’re going to want to add this tour to your itinerary.

Peter Jackson was pretty crafty when it came to shooting locations, and chose easily accessible spots for at least a few of his scenes. Quite a few can be found around Wellington on New Zealand’s north island, and it’s definitely worth picking a good tour to see them all. Four of them can be found relatively close to each other in a park which contains a mountain. The original Maori names for this mountain are Tangi Te Keo and Matairangi, while the anglicized name is Mount Victoria. Fun fact, see the long white cloud in the photo below? That’s what the Maori named their land after! Aotearoa means the Land of the Long White Cloud.

I don’t recall the name of the tour company who was hired but I do remember that it had some very specific stops, though Weta workshop wasn’t one of them, or if it was it wasn’t for very long. I remember some sort of gift shop but I don’t think we truly went in. If memory serves me the Hobbit was being filmed when I visited, and so that could account for our inability to have a look around. I would really have loved to see it though, so personally I recommend that any tour you choose have Weta as a stop.

What I know for sure is that I saw is the Gardens of Isengard which was filmed at Harcourt Park. It’s a beautiful park on it’s own, but the way Peter Jackson changed it is rather ingenious. He didn’t have to alter much to make the world of Tolkien come alive.

The road where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin fall onto after being chased by Farmer Maggot is nearby, and although the tree isn’t there the path and the indentation are. Grab a picture while you’re there!

The forest which provided the filming location of Rivendell is close by, though there is very little which remains of the Elven city. This is on purpose, of course, the government of New Zealand required that very little damage be done to the plants in the area, and also that every plant that had been removed be brought back. It was done, and the lush forest of Rivendell lives on!

Helms Deep is also on the list of places that you can visit, but it is a very short visit. It was, and to my knowledge still is an active quarry, and so when filming was done the miniatures and sets came down.

Lord of the Rings was a big part of my life, so I was super happy to see all of these locations, and I fully recommend any fan visit them should they be given the chance! Bring good walking shoes, and a water bottle as you’ll be doing a bit of walking. Not a lot, but enough that heels aren’t a good idea! Bring something waterproof too, just in case it rains. You won’t want a lack of a raincoat to damper your experience!

Wear a mask, wash your hands, and be safe gentle readers.