Lord of the Rings page 4

Isengard Gardens (Harcourt Park)

Located in Upper Hutt, near Wellington, this little town park doubled as sections of Isengard.  This is where the two wizards are seen walking together in "The Fellowship of the Ring,"  and also where Gandalf comes riding up to the doors of Isengard.

In Lothlorien (Fernside near Featherston)

A lovely, private estate and gardens in the Wairarapa area.  This is Mark, the gardener and our tour guide through the locations used for Lothlorien and the Gladden Fields.   Susan is wearing an Elvish cloak purchased from the weaving factory in Wellington.

Lothlorien (Fernside)

A back section of the private estate features a small pond with this lovely bridge.  This is where Galadriel and the Lothlorien elves bid the Fellowship farewell on their trip down the River Anduin.  The bridge belongs to the estate, so it was not removed after filming.

Gladden Fields (Fernside)

On the opposite side of the small pond from Lothlorien, stands the location where Deagol and Smeagol went fishing, and Deagol came up with the Ring from the depths of the river.  Believe or not, the white bridge is just out of camera range off to our left.  It was hidden behind extra greenery during the strangulation scene.

I can't remember where this is!!!  But we stopped along this lovely lakeshore one day.  Vic said "This beach has floating rocks."  We said, "Yeh, right."  So we got out and sure enough, the beach is made of volcanic rock with so many air bubbles trapped inside, that the stone DO FLOAT when you toss them into the water.  Very weird to see rocks floating back to the shore!

Approaching Edoras (Southern Alps)

Now we are on the South Island, after flying from Wellington to Christchurch and then getting up early and taking a LONG bus ride to get here.  This is Erewhon, a remote section of the Southern Alps used mostly for high country sheep pasture.  The day we went to Edoras was misty.  Wild, undammed rivers push their way through glacial bed valleys, with the snow-capped mountains helming you inside and away from civilization.

Our guide to Edoras

Our tour guide on the South Island was Anwen, and this is her father.  Both of them played extra in "The Two Towers" as Rohan refugees.  He now helps out on the tours, taking groups up to Edoras.  Great guy, that Gandalf!

Edoras in the Mists (Mt. Sunday)

Technically, Mt. Sunday is part of the high country Mt. Potts sheep station.  The entire valley was shrouded in mists as we approached Edoras.  Your bus/auto travels up a dirt road to a car park.  Your guide has to have a key to get onto this property.  Of course, since we had Gandalf, we were admitted.  Then you hike across fields.  I'm not kidding.  It takes another hour hiking to get to Mt. Sunday.  And you have to ford three mountain streams on the way.