Lord of the Rings Day - and more

This was an unplanned day, waking without any real sense of plan. I decided to browse the local activity guide for things that really jumped out. Bridget and Gary had recommended the gondola ride to the top of a nearby mountain, and the luge ride at the top. Sounds like a blast. But that will only take an hour or so. Then something caught my eye. A few minutes and a quick call later, and I'm booked for an afternoon in an off-road vehicle touring some of the remote locations they used to film Lord of the Rings.

But first, to the top of the mountain. And there I found the ideal tool for the navigationally challenged. I'm only 5000 km from the South Pole? Wow. The luge track is cement, not ice, and the luge sleds have wheels and brakes. But it's still a lot of fun to go ripping down the mountainside, doing hairpin turns, ducking through tunnels and trying to do belly-floppers on the bumps.

Next, it's the Kiwi Bird Sanctuary, which was at the bottom of the gondola ride. Although you can't get pics of the rare kiwis, you can sort of see them in the red light of the darkened buildings in which they're housed. They really are amazing. Hopefully, they will be able to get rid of all the stoats, rats and possums here and the kiwi and other flightless birds on the islands can make a real comeback. As a bonus, there are a number of other rare birds at the sanctuary, like this duck with an attitude.

The weather couldn't be better for the safari ride, and Fran is a wonderful guide. She takes 5 of us in the Safari 4WD up to Glenorchy, a small town of about 300 about 45 km from Queenstown. Not far from there the road becomes a gravel track, and we enter Mount Arising National Park. There are still a few houses, and the Dart Stables, which is the most expensive real estate in New Zealand - dozens of movie scenes and commercials have been filmed here, and there's a crew here today.

But most interesting is the sign that says "Cattle Stop". I ask if this is where passengers wait for their ride to the rest of the tour, since buses can't get up this road. Not that cattle are the easiest things to ride. Fran chortles and asks if she can use that one on other groups (the Kiwi sense of humour is very Canadian). Then we see the real reason for the sign.

And of course, we have to stop.

Fran points out glaciers as well, noting that it's very easy to see the blue in them today. That, and the fact that you can see the edge of the glacier and how thick it is, is how you can tell if it's a glacier or just snow on the mountain. These are definitely glaciers.

Many of the filming locations for LOTR were so remote that the main actors had to be flown in by helicopter. Like Mt. Pluto, which was used as Zirak-zigil, where Gandalf finally smote the Balrog. We also see Ithilien, and parts of Amon Hen. Of course, there were 163 sites, and we can only see a few of them today. But the highlight of the trip is having our afternoon tea in Lothlorien.

Now that I have an official LOTR Location Guidebook, I can also pick out places I've seen in the past few days that were used in the movie(s). And I find myself this evening dining on the patio of Pier 19, right on the harbour, bluff oysters on the half shell and rack of lamb with fig sauce and dukkah spice, and looking at the Mountains of Mordor.

I have to get ready to fly to Wellington tomorrow. Right after I stop to enjoy this fabulous sunset over the Misty Mountains.