I received a Christmas card from my mother-in-law in New Zealand that features a postmark “From Middle Earth”. Does that give you an idea of how big a deal the filming of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movie series was for New Zealand?

The landscapes of this little country at the bottom of the world took a starring role in the Peter Jackson blockbusters based on JRR Tolkien’s iconic fantasy novels.

Tourists have been flocking to New Zealand to visit the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings film locations. From the rolling green hills of the Shire to the snow-capped Misty Mountains, New Zealand proved the perfect place to bring Tolkien’s world to life.

You can go on a New Zealand Lord of the Rings tour to see the locations and the gorgeous scenery but as a Wandering Kiwi who has done a lot of travel in New Zealand, let me introduce you to a few of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings locations I know and love.

The Hobbiton movie set

First stop is the rich farmland of the Waikato province (where your faithful travel blogger happened to grow up). Rarely on the New Zealand tourist trail in the past, the small town of Matamata it is now home to an unusual attraction. The Hobbiton movie set built for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then repaired and expanded for the filming of The Hobbit trilogy is tucked away on a privately owned farm.

A partnership between LOTR/Hobbit director Peter Jackson and the farm owners have turned the Hobbiton movie set tour into a charming tourism magnet. Take a look at this post for more images and the low down on visiting the Hobbiton movie set in New Zealand.

Mordor New Zealand

Travelling south in New Zealand you come to the central plateau of the North Island. The volcanic landscapes and mountains here offer marvellous hiking, climbing and skiing. In the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies this was the location for Mordor, Emyn Muil and Mount Doom. Steaming fumaroles, convulsed rocks, surreally-coloured lakes and blackened lava flows are all too real in this active volcanic area. The most iconic Lord of the Rings mountain – Mt Doom – is actually played by two mountains, namely Ngaruhoe and Ruapehu.

Lord of the Rings film locations in Wellington

Wellington has been dubbed “Wellywood” and New Zealand’s tiny but vibrant capital city at the bottom of the North Island enjoyed hosting many movie stars over the past decade and more of filming.

It was the base for the making of the Lord of the Rings movies and Hobbit movies director Sir Peter Jackson, and also home to the Weta Workshop Studios responsible for many of the amazing special effects in the films. You can now take Weta Workshop Studio tours.

A surprising number of scenes were also filmed around Wellington, particularly on Mt Victoria. The city has created a guide to show off its sights from The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and other movies.

Spectacular South Island

Heading across Cook Strait to the South Island of New Zealand, the country’s most spectacular scenery is still ahead of you. The area around Twizel and Tekapo in the Otago Province’s MacKenzie country played host to the filming of the epic battle at Pelennor Field, as well as the scenes in An Unexpected Journey Hobbit movie where Bilbo and the dwarves escape orcs and wargs.

Lake Pukaki is possibly the most beautiful of the Southern Lakes, especially on a clear day when the views down the lake to Aoraki/Mt Cook are truly inspiring. This is where they filmed the Laketown scenes in the second Hobbit film.

Also in this region are the Mt Cook/Aoraki and Mt Aspiring National Parks, as well as the lakeside town of Wanaka. There was a film base at Wanaka’s Treble Cone ski field and here in the remote high country were filmed Gandalf’s flight to Rohan with Gwaihir after his rescue from Orthanc. The River Anduin and the Pillars of the Argonath were also filmed in this southern lakes region.

The Lindis Pass featured as part of Fangorn Forest and then over the Crown Range is Queenstown, overlooked by The Remarkables mountain range, which stood in for Middle Earth’s Misty Mountains.

From Queenstown it is an easy drive out to Glenorchy and the valley of the Dart River, passing Lord of the Rings film locations for Ilithien, and where the Amon Hen scenes were filmed.

In New Zealand’s deep south is the huge Fiordland National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site that is made up of deep waters and deeper beech forests, marked by craggy mountains.

The township of Te Anau beside its picturesque lake was a base for a number of scenes in the Lord of the Rings movies including the River Anduin, Fangorn Forest and the Dead Marshes.

It is easy to lose yourself in a Tolkienesque fantasy, and these Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movie film locations are just one more reason why New Zealand continues to be a dream world travel destination.

By Natasha von Geldern

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If you are interested in more info about New Zealand travel with a Lord of the Rings film locations focus, check out this infographic: