The last days before getting the ferry we spent hunting for Lord of the Rings movie sets. After camping next to 'Lothlorien' forest (never had that much wind before – Sammy (the car) and we inside, were shaken and rattled all night long) our next stop was Rivendell – the city of the elves. There are signs leading there from the highway onwards and from these announcements we expected something of a tourist attraction. Indeed, all the movie tours go there and the are information panels about the movies all around the path.
But, except for the panels, there is not much to be found. We didn't expect to find any houses, because all the material was taken down after filming, but still we were a bit disappointed at the lack of recognisable places from the movies – the lack of anything, really. There is beautiful bush around there, yes. But having the movie scenes in our heads we expected to see some magic landscape surrounding the place. Nothing of the sort. We learned from the panels that all the background scenes with epic waterfalls and cliffs were filmed in Fjordland and this 'Rivendell' was only the place they built the houses. So, if anything, we might have been able to recognize this tree over there or this patch of grass over there. So much for that. We are looking forward to see the real landscapes in the South Island!
