One final trip - Day 2 (Rivendell to Masterton)

December 28, 2014

Rivendell 

After we had some dinner in the park (Noodle Canteen - sooo yummy!) we kept driving along Highway 2 until we reached the Kaitoke Regional Park where the location of Rivendell was filmed. The map below shows our first stop, at a lake used to provide water to the local area. It was a beautiful evening!

After the lake, we followed the many signs that ensured we found our way to the right place: Rivendell.

At the entrance to the site, there is a post welcoming you to Rivendell. One side is in english and the other in Elvish. The only way I could get the two pictures side-by-side though was to make one small :(

Standing in one corner of the old set site

Brian is standing in the middle of where Frodo's room was when he was recovering from the Morgul blade wound in Fellowship of the Rings

Which way to Mordor? Is it right or left?

This was one of the more fun sites because there were actually markers and placquards showing you where things were located during filming. As we walked back to the car, we also passed over this river, which portrayed the Fords of Isen in the extended DVD of the Two Towers. It's always nice when you can get two sites in one stop!

After a beautiful walk in the forest, it was time to continue down the road. We decided we could only get as far as Masterton due to the time (rather than our intended stop of Napier) but we made a couple more stops anyway.

Lothlorien and the Gladden Fields

We attempted to see the area where part of Lothlorien was filmed, but when we got there we found out it was a private residence and you could only see the gardens on a tour. Since it was about 7pm on a Sunday evening, and this being New Zealand, there was no way that was happening. We took some pictures of the fields surrounding the property, but we couldn't get a view of the lake in the "Gladden Fields" where Smeagol and Deagol were fishing and found the One Ring. Complete strikeout.

Stonehenge Aotearoa

The next small town we drove through was Greytown. We saw a sign for the Stonehenge of New Zealand and thought that could be cool to see. It was a bit farther out of the way than we thought, but it was a beautiful drive.

However, we were again disappointed to find this on the sign. Darn private property! We thought we were going to a public place.

This is the last picture for the day. I thought this was just an amazing dilapidated old house. I think I'll have to make it into a puzzle some day.

After this little detour, we made it through Carterton and Masterton without event. Even with a few disappointments at the end of the day, it was overall a pretty awesome day!