This Thursday I left Queenstown and went to Te Anau. On the way I stopped by Mavora Lakes, two lakes by the Mararoa River. Here they shot several scenes for Lord of the Rings. By the north lake they shot the river bank at Nen Hithoel, where the fellowship breaks apart and Frodo and Sam sets out on their own journey towards the dark land of Mordor. When I got there they lived up to the name given to then in Lord of the Rings (Nen Hithoel means The Lake of many mists in Tolkiens fictive language) but while I was there the mist lifted and it became very beautiful. In the forest just above the water they shot a scene that actually take place just close by, where Frodo hide from Sauromans Uruk-Hai and Merry and Pippin leads them off. At the southern end of the southern lake, where it flows into Mavaroa River, they shot a short scene for the extended edition of the first Lord of the Rings movie, when the fellowship paddle down the river, specifically were the Silverlode, the river running from the mountains and through the elves home in Lothlorien flows into the great river Anduin. Just south of the lakes are some hills with forest on them, used for the edge of Fangorn Forest, where Éomer and his Rohirrim slew and burned the Uruk-Hai that’d captured Merry and Pippin. Just outside Te Anau there is a small road leading in to another small road named Takaro Road. It is surrounded by forest on both sides, and on both sides they shot scenes in Fangorn Forest, where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli track Merry and Pippin, who has escaped in here to get away from the Uruk-Hai. Yesterday I went to another place just outside Te Anau, called Kepler Mire. Here they shot some of the scenes for the Dead Marshes for the second Lord of the Rings Movie. In reality they never shot the Dead Marshes on site, as the wetlands provided a risk for cast and crew and equipment, but some aerial shots, as well as backgrounds and inspiration for the studio environments was taken partly from here. A couple of minutes from here is the start of the Kepler Track, one of the walks I couldn’t do because of avalanche danger during the winter, but for those interested in the Lord of the Rings, there is still some value in visiting the track start, as the river flowing through here vas used for some of the shots of the river Anduin. In the afternoon I went on a guided tour to Te Anau Glowworm Caves, a system of caves with Glowworms and lime stone formations. It was interesting and pretty, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the cave, so I can’t show anything. |