New Zealand was the setting for the world's most ambitious film project in history - the adaption of J. R.R. Tokien's Lord of the Rings. Kiwi director Peter Jackson used New Zealand's lush and varied landscape to re-create Middle Earth's forests, mountains, countryside and volcanoes. Jackson's special effects company, Weta, based in Wellington, then enhanced these landscapes and created other environments entirely as 3D virtual experiences. The results garnered the film multiple oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards.

The Lord of the Rings and Active New Zealand

So, what filming locations will you be able to see on your Active New Zealand tour? We've created the map on the right that details some of the places used in the movie, some details of how you can get to see them. Simply move your mouse over each of the red dots on the map and the info will appear in the box below.

Milford Sound Milford Sound is famous for being incredibly beautiful, the so-called 8th wonder of the world. It provided many scenic shots. Including Mavora Lake 'Amon Hen', the river 'Nen Hithoel' in the trilogy. The ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND Rimu tour actually lets you kayak on the sound itself, while the Manuka tour includes the Milford Track Guided Walk, which will guide you through this entire region. Even without the added bonus of being a filming location, Milford Sound is a place that will stick in your memory for a long time after you've left New Zealand.   Cantebury The mystical home to King Theoden and the Riders of Rohan has been created on the summit of Mount Sunday, on the Plains of Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island. Since it is one of the few flat regions in the country, the area is home to a lot of farming and agriculture. Filming was also done in the neighbouring Otago region, with its hill country and has a harsher climate. Many ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND trips start and end in this region. Twizel The small town of Twizel is passed through on most of our ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND trips and provided the scenes for the battle of Pelennor Fields. The producers required a large open space with uninterrupted views from fields to mountains. Scenes from Rohan were also filmed here. However, many of the places that were filmed were only acccessible by helicopter and thus are out of reach of most fans! Southern Alps This impressive mountain range run down through the south island and provided Peter Jackson with the perfect vision of The Misty Mountains. Beautiful glacier carved lakes and rivers and the Southern Alps mountain range all added something of Tolkien's Middle Earth to the film. This mountain range provides a dramatic backdrop to many stages of our ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND tours.   Arrowtown Arrowtown is an old gold-mining town just outside of Queenstown. It resembles a snapshop in time of what a town of that era would have looked like. Visit the river gorge where the Ford of Bruinen was filmed. Here a wounded Frodo and his companions fled on horseback from the Nazgul with the help of Arwen. On your free day in Queenstown you can easily organise a trip to Arrowtown. Aside from the lord of the rings location there's also lots to do in town. Te Anau Te Anau is the last town of any signifcant size on the way to Milford Sound. The Dead Marshes were filmed here, using a section of the Kepler Track, a place called Kepler Mire. ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND's Rimu trip passes through Te Anau on the way to Milford Sound.   Queenstown + Surrounds Every ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND south island trip has a free day in Queenstown included. The towns of Glenorchy and Paradise lie about 45 mins drive from here, and provided the location for Lothlorien. However, the beauty of the region will impress enough in its own right.

The Fellowship of the Ring, the first film in the trilogy, opened in December 2001 to rave reviews and huge audience numbers. Much of this film and its sequels were filmed in and around areas you can visit while on your ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND trip. This page highlights some of the areas throughout New Zealand where different scenes of the film were shot.

Tongariro National Park incorporates the triple peaks of Mts Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. In the movies, this volcanic landscape became the black land of Mordor where Mt Doom was located.

Wellington is home to the Three Foot Six studio buildings, where scenes such as the Mines of Moria were shot, and Weta Workshop, which created vast quantities of armour, weapons, miniatures, major creatures, gore and special effects for the three films.

Mt Victoria was the setting for Frodo and Sam's flight through the Hobbiton Woods, and also for what appeared to be the Riders of Rohan. Further afield, the Wairarapa region offers such scenes as Rivendell (Kaitoke Regional Park), the Great River Anduin (Hutt River from Moonshine Bridge to Poets Park) and Isengard (Harcourt Park in Upper Hutt).

Arrowtown is an old gold-mining town just outside of Queenstown. It resembles a snapshop in time of what a town of that era would have looked like. Visit the river gorge where the Ford of Bruinen was filmed. Here a wounded Frodo and his companions fled on horseback from the Nazgul with the help of Arwen.

The untouched area around Glenorchy, less than an hour from Queenstown, was where they filmed Lothlorien, Fangor and Amon Hen. Nearby Dart Stables provided horses for the film and can arrange horse treks for visitors.

Many boat scenes, including the final scene of the first movie, were shot on the Kawarau and Shotover rivers near Queenstown.

A portion of the Kepler Track, to the lookout for the Kepler Mire, is an extremely rare and significant string bog that doubled as the Dead Marshes.

En route you will pass through Twizel (the Pelennor Fields) to reach Mt Cook, our tallest mountain set amongst the Southern Alps. You may recognise this range as the Misty Mountains.