14th March: Fangorn and the Breaking of the Fellowship

Today was an out-and-back day from Queenstown, as we visited the Mavora Lakes area, to see (and in some cases, re-enact) the orc funeral pyre and the calling of Shadowfax at the edge of Fangorn Forest, the tree Frodo hid behind to escape the Uruk hai, and the Silverlode River - Nen Hithoel where Frodo and Sam paddle across the river at the breaking of the Fellowship.

This evening, we have our farewell dinner with Josh at the hotel restaurant. The last full day is tomorrow.

On the journey, the two teams (captained by me and Rebecca, who came second in the individual quiz earlier this week) faced off in a Tolkien trivia quiz, in which the 40 questions for each team had been set by members of the opposing team (2 each). There were some doozies, and I was very glad of the in-depth knowledge of my fellow nerds. Our team won by 5 points - 31 to 26.

All good fun!

13th March: Bungee Jump and Queenstown

 Today was bungee jumping day. As usual, the anticipation was far worse than the reality. Once I was up there and securely strapped into my harness and round my ankles, my fear vanished and I just did it. There was no time to balk - they shepherd you forwards to the edge of the platform and remind you to dive rather than jump, then there is a 5-4-3-2-1 countdown and a gentle push. Judging by the videos, my dive was reasonably graceful.

I wasn’t expecting so much bouncing and swinging around, but it was okay. When the swinging slows, you are told to grab onto the end of a pole being held up by people in a raft below, and they get you into the raft and help you take the harness off. Easy peasy!

The hardest bit was the long flight of steps back up to the viewing platform. I picked up my free tee-shirt and went out to a hero’s welcome. I have to say, it looks much worse than it feels. I’m so glad I’ve done it.

When all six of us had jumped, we drove on to Queenstwon, which will be our base until the end of the tour. Josh took those of us who had opted for it to pay for our 4WD LotR locations tour on Sunday, then we were free to wander and shop. Aarthi, Sarah and I stuck together and I lost my head to the extent of a gorgeous coffee table book full of photos and stories about LotR locations, and a Gandalf tee-shirt.

Enough.

12th March: Lake Pukaki and Pelennor Fields

 Another earlyish start. First stop, Lake Pukaki, to land and lakeshore owned by a total eccentric called Ian, who showed up in a black jacket and trousers with big white stars all over them, and cowboy boots. He proceeded to speak to us about his father’s experiences as a Spitfire pilot in WWII and (a very little) about the use of that part of the lakeside for the Laketown refugees sequence in the filming of The Battle of the Five Armies (3rd Hobbit film). Most peculiar chap.

Then we did some archery, which most of us (including me) were pretty hopeless at.

Then back on the coach to drive down to Twizel for the Pelennor Fields, which was great fun. It is an awesome setting, even if you have to imagine both Minas Tirith and the Mountains of Mordor. We did a re-enactment of the Ride of the Rohirrim, which was great fun. I sent you the video. And of Eowyn killing the Lord of the Nazgûl “I am no man !”

Then down through the Lindis Pass, which reminded me so much of the road that leads to Tal-y-Llyn. We reached Cromwell at around 5, and I’m planning a quiet evening in - the rest of the GF gang are going to a Mexican restaurant, which I don’t fancy.

Tomorrow is the bungee jump, then on to Queenstown, where we’ll be staying for the final three nights of the tour. I’ve discovered that Amarjeet fromout group will be on both the same long flights home. It will be nice to have someone to wait around with!

11th March: Edoras

 This was the one day I was really worried about, as it is very much “weather dependent”. But oh my! The weather was perfect (again) sunny and clear and the views were simply amazing.

And it was such fun! All the women got the chance to pose I. The one size fits (or doesn’t fit) all Eowyn dress, and all of us could stand on the high point with flag and sword. Awesome! And I hadn’t realised it, but they used different part of the same general location (admittedly vast) to film the background to Helm’s Deep.

Later on, we stopped for afternoon tea (yummy ice cream) and I found two cute cuddly kiwis for Alexander and Roman. We also stopped briefly at Lake Pukaki for a wonderful view of Mount Cook, before arriving at the hotel at 5:30. 

Buffet dinner included and as usual, I sat with the GF gang Sarah and her friend Aarthi, and Hannah and her husband Sean. All American and all delightful.

Laketown refugees and Pelennor Fields tomorrow.

10th March: from Nelson to Christchurch

 A long day on the coach today. Too much sitting still and I didn’t think to put compression socks on, which means I now have elephant ankles. Elevation this evening.

But the day was not without bright spots… we did the much-heralded Middle-Earth on-coach quiz, and to my complete astonishment, I won! (Low bar - I got 18 questions right out of a possible 46; they were hard!)

We stopped for lunch and two bathroom breaks along the way, and also to view a seal colony - more than a hundred at a guess - sunning themselves on the rocks.

Tonight we’re at the Suima Airport Hotel in Christchurch, and to my delight, my room has a sliding door to the outside, so no need to trek miles to vape.

Tomorrow: Edoras!!

9th March: Nelson - Helicopter Ride and The One Ring

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 There was a little bit of grumbling among those of us in the first helicopter ride group, at having to leave the hotel at 6:30 am. But not afterwards… we watched the sun come up on the way and it was awesome.

Mount Olympus - stunningly beautiful location, where they see the crebain from Dunland, and Gimli advises Gandalf to go through Moria, and Boromir is teaching Merry and Pippin to fight.

We returned to the hotel for a quick breakfast before visiting the workshop of Jens Hansen, the jeweller who crafted the One Ring. Lots of fabulous jewellery on sale including the ring I tried on (see photos) but way too expensive.

This afternoon I wandered back into the town centre with two of the group, then visited the Cathedral alone - it was strange to not have Maz with me. They had a Troyes labyrinth painted on the floor, so I walked it, which was lovely. Then I wandered back down the Main Street, where I stopped for a drink of juice with another two of the group, before picking up a delicious orange and almond slice from Dhara’s Caffe. I’m going to eat in the hotel, then have a relaxing evening in my room. Another early start tomorrow.

8th March: From North Island to South Island

 A long and gruelling day today. The ferry across the Cook Strait between North Island and South Island was running late, so that was one thing. However, it was nice to spend the crossing in Sarah and Aarthi’s good company. 

South Island has a very different feel to North Island - the part I’ve seen so far (from Picton to Nelson) is very like Austria. On the way to Nelson, where we’re staying for the next two nights, most of the group went kayaking on the Pelorus River, which just didn’t appeal to me. But more waiting around…

We finally reached the hotel in Nelson around 6 (having left the one in Wellington at 7 am). My room is nice, if quirky - it includes a large purple armchair, which is very comfortable, and both a desk and a bath, neither of which luxuries I had in Wellington. So I am content.

Early start tomorrow- I’ll be leaving the hotel at 6:30 am for a helicopter ride “south of Rivendell”.