Follow in the Footsteps of Hobbits, Dwarfs,
Elves and Men
We cover a lot of ground on the tour, but there is enough time to explore, recreate scenes (over 25 different ones) for yourself and work out how the movies were made. Due to our small group size we are the specialist in getting you amongst the action whilst enjoying a personal experience. The scenery of Wellington mirrors that of Middle Earth. Come explore it with us on this relaxing day tour!
We pick up from your central city accommodation between 8.30am and 9am. The morning is spent exploring the city locations of Mount Victoria (for spectacular views) and the 'greenbelt' (we spend 40min walking through the OUTER SHIRE. This location includes 'get off the road' and 'shortcut to mushrooms' among others.
We drive the southern suburbs, including Seatoun and Miramar and the South Coast where many of the big name stars lived, looking at Bree and Dunharrow locations. A stop is included at WETA CAVE (exept Public Holidays)and Scorch o Rama cafe (own expense) on the Wellywood Coast. We usually coffee with hoards of hungry WETA crew.
Depending on how friendly security are we can have a look over the fence at STONE STREET STUDIO to see what projects they are currently filming (unlike Universal Studios there are no studio tours. They are out of bounds for all us unmoviemaking mortals). Our knowledgeable guides will discuss past, current and future Peter Jackson/WETA creations including who is currently in town from Hollywood at the moment. ie Mr Del Toro and the team preparing for The Hobbit!
The afternoon is spent exploring the Hutt Valley. Stops include the Hutt River (Great River Anduin) and Harcourt Park (Gardens of Isengard and the famous Orc trees). In Kaitoke Regional Park we include our famous picnic lunch under the elevish trees of the Rivendell location (and a 45min walk through the NZ native forest). If the weather is poorly we shuffle the tour around and provide lunch at Scorch-O-Rama. In this instance morning tea will include muffins in Rivendell. We aim to complete our journey around 4.00pm.
There are two main components of our tours. Firstly the locations. Our tour visits the best locations in Wellington. Secondly, and our past clients tell us more importantly is the HOW and the WHY and the WHAT! WHAT do we see and talk about? HOW do we get there? and WHY do we go there? By answering these 3 questions we have developed Wellingtons Best Lord of the Rings Tours.
We train up Lord of the Rings fans to be great guides. They are fun, knowledgeable and our biggest asset. Our roomy vans allow for interaction with the guides so you can chat with them and learn LOTR secrets all day. The tour is structured for the best experience. From the order we visit locations, to the order we visit different scenes at locations.
WHAT IS EXTRA FROM THE HALF DAY TOUR?
Lots of Lord of the Rings stories. We have seen and learnt a lot over the years and imparting knowledge takes time. That is the major difference between the half and full day tours. More time means more stories. Actual locations we add are Dunharrow (although some was filmed on Mount Victoria) and Bree.
We have time for the Scorch-O-Rama café experience and exploring the world famous Weta Cave located in the heart of the Wellington movie district. There is also time to walk the loop track in Kaitoke Regional Park to truly appreciate the wonders of the Rivendell location. The full day tour is our most popular tour but provide the half day for those without time to really relax.
WHY NO KING KONG LOCATIONS?
We do visit and talk a little bit about KING KONG and other movie locations on our Rings tour but not much. We are big movie fans a so we provide a lot of historical information of NZ's movie industry. Experience tells us most Rings fans are most interested in Lord of the Rings tour. Most importantly though, most other movies are filmed on sets, there is nothing left to experience. Lord of the Rings was mostly created in some of New Zealand's most beautiful locations. King Kong was constructed and filmed mostly with sets. These are all gone. The scenery of Middle Earth remains for all to see and this is where we go.
WHAT OUR PASSENGERS HAVE TO SAY >> |
Tour Includes:
Orc sized picnic lunch, view ipod movie clips, still photo screen shots to relive the movie, all transport
from city accommodation, WETA CAVE visit, free souvenir map, short walks and a friendly informative storytelling guide
We visit and spend time in these film locations
Outskirts of the Shire
(get off the road)
Race to the Ferry
Dunharrow
Village of Bree
Rivendell
Fords of Isen
Gardens of Isengard
River Anduin
Minas Tirith
Helms Deep
as well as
Miramar Peninsula for
Movie Studio Drive
Wellywood Suburbs
and a visit the WETA CAVE
(Cave not open Xmas Day and Anzac Day)
We will have our ears to the ground for news on the hobbit filming and will endeavor to get you as close to the action as possible.
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What Others Say:
"I am writing to express appreciation for our group tour in Wellington on Feb 7, 3008. We enjoyed the tour immensely. Nathan, our guide, was a real delight. He provided us with a day of fun in addition to sightseeing. We were quite impressed with his knowledge and his presentation of information to go along with the sites. Our only regret was that we did not have more time to spend in the Wellington area. Thanks again to Nathan for providing us a day to remember." (Shirley C from USA Feb 2008)
"We just had an amazing tour by Randall. We just wanted to say how impressed we were with the experience. He was so knowledgeable, funny, and passionate about New Zealand and LOTR. We will be recommending the Ring Rover Tour to anyone we know coming to New Zealand. It is the highlight of our trip here. Thank you so much." (Jaya and Simon from Boston March 2008) |
