New Zealand & Lord of The Rings

To make the long trip from Europe more manageable, we flew Stockholm to Tokyo and stayed two days to break up the journey and eat well. Tokyo is a great place for food. It was a good way to rest, adjust to the time difference, and enjoy the city before the final leg. From Tokyo, the flight goes directly to Auckland.

We also fit in some sights: the famous Shibuya Crossing, teamLab Planets with its immersive light and water installations, and the free observation deck at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, which gives a wide view over the city.

From Narita Airport, the flight to Auckland with Air New Zealand is roughly ten hours, landing the morning of the next day. Prices were affordable in Tokyo, both for food and hotels, which made the stopover easy.

From Auckland, the first stop was Hobbiton. A few practical notes: Book well in advance, even up to six months ahead, as tours sell out. There are several options beyond the standard tour, including ones with dinner or the “second breakfast,” and we went with the second breakfast. Hobbiton is hard to put into words, it really does feel like stepping into the movies, and it’s worth experiencing for yourself. We rented a car to get there, which is the way to do New Zealand, it’s a road trip country, so you can stop wherever you like for photos and take in the nature along the way. One tip: After the long flights and time zone change, it’s worth spending a night in Auckland or nearby to rest and adjust before starting the drive.

Before flying from Hamilton to Christchurch, we briefly visited Hamilton Gardens, a series of themed gardens that recreate different cultures and periods, from a Japanese contemplation garden to an Italian Renaissance one. It was February, so summer in New Zealand, and the sun was out, which made it a pleasant stop. Hamilton is the closest town to Hobbiton, so it was an easy detour. For this trip we decided to focus mainly on the South Island, with Hobbiton being the one exception on the North Island.

New Zealand is a big country, and it’s not realistic to cover both islands properly in a roughly two-week trip, especially when you factor in the time zone and the long distance from Europe. For what I wanted, the South Island made more sense. South Island is known for its dramatic scenery, the Southern Alps, glaciers, fjords like Milford Sound, and lakeside towns like Queenstown. The South Island felt like the better fit for a nature-focused road trip And to visit other locations of lord of the rings.

After flying from Hamilton to Christchurch, we spent some time strolling around the city. Christchurch was hit by a major earthquake in 2011 that damaged much of the centre, and the rebuilding is still visible today, with modern architecture, street art, and new spaces sitting alongside what survived. It’s a pleasant, walkable city, and for us it worked mainly as a base before the next adventure rather than a destination in itself.

From Christchurch, we did the tour to Edoras, the capital of Rohan in the films. The actual location is Mount Sunday, a lone hill set deep in the Rangitata Valley and surrounded by the Southern Alps, about a two to two-and-a-half hour drive from the city. Nothing of the set remains, but the landscape is exactly as it appears on screen, wild, open, and ringed by snow-capped mountains. Guided tours run from Christchurch by 4WD and include a walk up to the summit with 360-degree views, and many also let you handle movie replica props. Even setting the films aside, the scenery alone makes the trip worth it.

From Christchurch, we rented a campervan with Jucy, and I have to say it was the best decision of the trip. Having the van meant we were free to go wherever we wanted and wake up to a different view each morning. New Zealand is very well set up for this, with apps that show where you can camp, including free freedom camping spots as well as paid campsites. One tip: book the campsites in advance if you want amenities like electricity, since January, February, and March are high season.

Heading inland, we reached the glacial lakes. Lake Tekapo and, a little further on, Lake Pukaki are both an intense milky turquoise, a colour that comes from the fine “rock flour” ground down by glaciers and suspended in the water. The backdrop of the Southern Alps, with Aoraki/Mount Cook visible from Pukaki on a clear day, makes the whole area feel unreal. Swimming in a glacial lake was one of the coolest experiences of the trip, freezing but unforgettable, and waking up to those mountains and that water was pure magic

From the lakes, we headed into Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, home to New Zealand’s highest peak at 3,724 metres and some of the most dramatic alpine scenery in the country. The trek we did was the climb Sealy Tarns Track (2000 steps). Wear really good shoes. work out regularly, so for me it was a fun challenge to push myself on the climb, but my husband was slower, which is part of the fun of doing it with a partner or friends, you go at your own pace and cheer each other on. The whole area has different trails to choose from, each varying in length and difficulty, so there’s something for every level. Sealy Tarns takes a couple of hours round trip, and the view at the top, looking out over the Hooker Valley with Mount Cook rising in the distance, is absolutely worth it.

A few practical tips: arrive early in the morning to get a parking spot, there’s a small fee, and there are bathrooms at the trailhead car park. After a heavy walk like that, a salmon sandwich made with salmon from this area is so worth it, the region is known for its high-country salmon farms. And if you’d rather take in the scenery from above, you can also do a scenic helicopter ride over the glaciers and peaks, which is a spectacular way to see Mount Cook and its surroundings.

The drive from Mount Cook to Queenstown is an experience in itself, and with the campervan you can stop wherever the view grabs you. Heading back down past Lake Pukaki, you follow the road through Twizel and over the Lindis Pass. ‌Further on, around the Kawarau River area, you’re back into Lord of the Rings country, the Kawarau Gorge was used as the Pillars of the Argonath on the River Anduin. Queenstown itself sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, ringed by the peaks of the Remarkables, and it’s a stunning place to arrive into.

For LOTR fans, we camped at Twelve Mile Delta, the conservation campsite about 20 minutes out of town on the Glenorchy road. It was the filming location for the Ithilien Camp in The Two Towers, including the famous “po-tay-toes” scene with Sam and Gollum, so it’s a fun spot to stay if you’re a fan. It’s a basic DOC site (no booking, no power), and in the morning a warden comes round to collect a small fee, but the lake-and-mountain view makes it more than worth it. Tucked away nearby there’s also a hidden waterfall and pool, a fun little adventure to track down and one that gives off real Gollum vibes, like somewhere he’d be lurking after a fish.

The Remarkables themselves also appear in several scenes. From Queenstown, we also did a tour out to Glenorchy and Paradise (Arcadia Station), the area used as Isengard and the forest of Lothlórien, with the road along Lake Wakatipu gorgeous the whole way. Another nearby spot is Deer Park Heights, used for various Rohan scenes.
Queenstown works really well as a base, which is how we used it. It’s a lovely town and the adventure capital of New Zealand, so beyond the film locations there’s plenty to do: white-water rafting, jet boating, bungy jumping (the original Kawarau Bridge bungy is right there), the Shotover Jet through the canyons, the Skyline gondola and luge, paragliding, and skydiving for the truly brave.

From Queenstown, Milford Sound is about a four-hour drive each way, so it’s worth breaking the journey rather than doing it in one day. We stayed at a freedom camp/DOC site along the way, and Te Anau is the last proper town before the road into the fiord, so it’s the place to fuel up and stock up. The drive itself is a highlight: the road narrows, waterfalls, mirror lakes, and steep mountains along the route.

The Milford Sound cruise is the main event. It’s a remote spot, with cliffs rising straight out of the water and waterfalls running down them. Bring a rain jacket, as the weather changes quickly and the area gets a lot of rainfall, though the rain does make the waterfalls more impressive. Several operators run cruises throughout the day, so booking the exact one in advance isn’t essential, you’ll find one that fits your timing and budget.