Lord of the Rings locations in New Zealand

The moment I step off the place in New Zealand, it’s like falling through a portal to a place where the sheep outnumber the people and the mountains look like they were sketched by a Tolkien fever dream. This isn’t just where they filmed Middle-Earth. This is Middle-Earth. And Peter Jackson didn’t create it, he just pointed a camera at it.

As soon as the first Lord of the Rings movie was released in 2001, the beautiful landscape became an instant tourist magnet and people from all over the world flocked to see the locations.

On the right track at Mount Victoria.

Wellington, Jackson’s home turf and affectionately dubbed “Wellywood”, wears its cinematic legacy like a tattoo. Weta Workshop churns out armor and orcs with the same pride as a Michelin kitchen plating up bone marrow. This town lives its fantasy.

So what better place to start than Mount Victoria in central Wellington. This was the place where Elijah Wood (Frodo) and the Hobbits first encountered the Nazgul. It was the site for the very first shooting of the trilogy, catching the press off guard.

The lush forest area was also used for the scenes at Weathertop, Dunharrow, Hobbiton Woods and Outer Shire.

“Get off the road” location at Mount Victoria.

Even though some of the environment were props, such as the large tree root the four Hobbits were hiding under, it’s still fun to explore the paths where they took their first steps into a larger world. “You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits”, as Gandalf put it.

Dense vegetation at Mount Victoria.

Then there’s Mount Ngauruhoe, a perfect angry cone that moonlighted as Mount Doom. The volcano is located in the Tongariro National Park on the north island. Since the local population didn’t allow filming there for religious reasons the crew had to make a digital replica of it.

Tongariro National Park also includes Mount Ruapehu, where more scenes were filmed.

Mount Ngauruhoe.

Close to Seatoun I pass by an interesting rock formation, located near Weta Workshops. The sandstone rocks in the area were said to have inspired artist Alan Lee in the design of Shelob’s Lair.

Point Dorset, Seatoun.

I enter the Chocolate Fish Café in Seatoun, a local favorite of Peter Jackson where he brought a lot of the Lord of the Rings cast. A nice place where each chair is individually painted with different movie characters. And yes, the eponymous chocolate fish was delicious.

Chocolate Fish Café in Seatoun.

All of these locations are interesting, but here’s the secret: New Zealand doesn’t need hobbits. It doesn’t need elves or magic rings. It’s already got something better: raw, untouched beauty.