Today, we are going on a nice
half-day Lord of the Rings Tour with
Nomad Safaris in the Wakatipu Basin
called '
Safari of the Scenes'
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Nomad Safaris organizes various
safaris in the Queenstown area and also has a quite impressive shop
displaying all sorts of items on the movie The Lord of The Rings.
Our guide-driver Caz welcomes us on board of a massive
4-wheel drive. The journey through Middle-earth can begin! We leave
Queenstown and make our way to the famous ski field 'The Remarkables'.
The road is quite steep and quickly allows us to enjoy some gorgeous views
over the Queenstown area.
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Today is a very sunny day and we can observe the stunning association of emerald green rivers, steep
mountains, crystal blue lakes and vast green fields. We understand why
Peter Jackson particularly chose this part of of New Zealand to film
some of The Lord of the Rings scenes.
Next stop: the Kawarau river, where the "the Pillars of the
King" scene was filmed. Use your imagination and visualize our Heroes
canoeing along the river: as you can see, the colors are not fake ;-)
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Before heading to another place, we notice that each
registration plate of Nomad Safaris' 4WD has been carefully chosen in
accordance with the main characters out of The Lord of the Rings.
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On the way, we make a stop in Arrowtown, a very nice flowery
little town which finds its roots in the gold mining history : several
buildings are dated from the 1880-90's and there is a Gold shop where
you can weight your own gold!
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After a bit of rest in Arrowtown, Caz takes us for a bit of
4-wheel drive action by making her way through some quite unusual paths
right in the river!
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If you have seen the movie, you will certainly remember Arwen saving Frodo at the river while being pursued by the Nazgul.
By the river we find a pleasant spot to make a halt for an
afternoon tea. Nomad Safaris has planned it all and gives us all a treat
with some coffee, tea and cookies. We are also told how people used to
look for gold back in the day and are offered to give it a go the old
way!
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We find out that at the beginning of this year (2006) someone
found a nugget which was worth US$15,000 and sold it on e-bay for
US$30,000...Although we almost found nothing, you might well still have
a chance!
After having given up on becoming rich from gold mining, Caz takes
us to the Coronet Peak ski field which is well known for attracting a
lot of snowboarders over the winter season. In summer the Coronet Peak
is the playground of paragliders and mountain bikers.
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To finish off the trip, we make a last stop at the very start of the
Skippers road, known as one of the most dangerous roads in New Zealand
despite the stunning landscapes:
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This
half-day Safari of The Scenes in the Wakatipu Bassin offered by Nomad
Safaris was the perfect chance to discover the Queenstown area while
finding out about the different places we stopped at along the way.
No need to be a Lord of the Rings fan to enjoy this tour, whether you
are looking for some breathtaking panoramic views or just a nice time
out in the true beauty of the Queenstown surroundings, this tour is
definitely for you!
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Nomad Safaris Queenstown NZ
PO Box 341, Queenstown, New
Zealand.
Phone: +64 03 442 6699
Email: [email protected]
website:
www.nomadsafaris.co.nz