While researching for our trip to Queenstown, New Zealand, I came across the highly ranked Pure Glenorchy Lord of the Rings Tour on TripAdvisor. Since New Zealand is famous for being the location where a lot of the Lord of the Rings were shot, we decided to book the half day tour even though we’re not fans of the franchise, and we ended up enjoying ourselves.
Visit Lord of the Rings locations and take a journey with us deep into Middle Earth. On your scenic LOTR guided tour, you will explore Isengard, Amon Hen, Lothlorien Forest, The Misty Mountains and Ithilien! Stories and secrets will be shared by guides who have great insight into the filming.
From Pure Glenorchy Website
We were picked up at our central Queenstown hotel in a comfortable 4WD vehicle with all seats forward facing. The van was so comfy and even included fur blankets to help us with the cold. The windows were so large that you could enjoy the Glenorchy scenery even during the drive, without having to leave the vehicle.
But of course we were given plenty of opportunities to step out into Glenorchy and take photos outside.
It’s crazy just how beautiful and pristine the Glenorchy scenery is!
Our tour guide Andrew was very well informed about the Lord of the Rings. He told us which scenes were filmed where and shared interesting trivia about the film. He even had photos in a scrapbook to show us. Real fans would probably grab the chance to dress up and reenact some key moments in the films. We weren’t in costume, but we attempted (and failed) to reenact one scene.
It was very interesting to learn that Peter Jackson, a New Zealand citizen, had gone out of his way to ensure that different parts of New Zealand were used as shooting locations for the famous movie franchise, knowing that this would lead to a boom in tourism and therefore in income for his country.
The three movies were actually filmed at the same time, in 18 months, but it took 7 years to complete them with post processing. But the positive impact on New Zealand’s income is still felt after all those years.
At one point we stopped beside a gurgling brook to set up for a picnic.
It was so relaxing to listen to the stream while eating yummy sandwiches and apricot crumbles with that breathtaking view!
After the picnic we were each driven back to our hotels in Queenstown. I’m really glad we booked this Pure Glenorchy tour, it was very enjoyable.
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND ENTRIES 🇦🇺 Australia: Bridge Climb * Canberra * Hunter Valley * Melbourne * Sydney 🇳🇿 New Zealand: Glenorchy * Hobbiton * Milford Sound * Queenstown See all: Australia & New Zealand Tours
Leave a Reply