No trip to New Zealand would be complete without a Lord of the Rings tour. How very Dwight of me, I know! (I hope you guys are getting all of my Office references, if not sorry.) I had done my homework as soon as the trip was booked. Bound to get the best/most LOTR in a day tour, I found Rover Tours on the internet. They did not disappoint. We had a very good tour guide, Laura. She had just the right amount of LORT knowledge without becoming one of "those" kind of fans. I'm sure she has had to deal with those herself. 

Oh, story of us getting off the boat. In a word: ridiculous! I think my biggest complaint about this cruise is we never get off the ship when we are scheduled to. When the itinerary list an eight am embarkation, I expect to get off at eight am. We were literary the first two people off the ship at a remarkable time of 8:40. I was a little irate, especially since we had booked this LOTR tour and were to be meeting them on the pier at 8:15. But we got off, and the tour people didn't seem to be held up. 

So the tour began. Along the way we got to listen to LOTR soundtrack in the Aragorn van, all a little corny, but I loved it. I mean we were on a LOTR tour, why not go all the way with it. This was basically my mindset the entire day (as I staged pictures that corresponded to the film and donned elf ears to strike a pose as Legolas). Also there were nine of us, so we were a fellowship for the day. 

Our first stop was on the Mount Victoria belt, for the "Get off the road" scene. Out in the park, practically away from the city, it really felt like we were out in the Shire. Saw the hill the hobbits fell down and found the mushrooms and where the ring-wriath was atop waiting atop a hill. The other people on the tour actually set the scene up by climbing to the top of the hill and forming a horse figure. It was hilarious.

We headed off to "Wellyhood" on Miramar peninsula. This is where a majority of the actors (saw Orlando Bloom's and LIv Tyler's "homes") lived during filming and Peter Jackson currently lives. The town of "Bree" was also filmed out here, but no distinguishing features were there to really tell. Down the street to the Weta Workshop, the company that did all the weaponry, prosthetics, armor, miniatures, and digital post production for the films. If you've watched the extended DVD's 12 hours of special features, its all of those people. LOTR really launched this company; they've worked on a lot of major motion pictures, including Avatar. For Avatar, they had to upgrade their servers and computer systems. They now have the fourth largest computer network in the world. Peter Jackson's studios and soundstages are right down the road. The Dead Marshes and sections of Pelennor Fields and Minas Tirith were filmed in the car park lined with a five story blue screen.

We drove out of the city for the rest of the locations, including the River Anduin (close ups of the fellowship after leaving the elves), Rivendell, the gardens at Isengard (Gandalf and Sarumon before he goes all crazy), and the quarry where Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith were built and filmed.

Took all kinds of crazy photos, will post the good/goofy ones of me trying to act. It was a hoot. At the beginning of the tour, Laura asked if we had anyone who hadn't seen the movies. I looked at Sandy and said basically. The extent of what she has seen is what she sees while walking through the room while I'm watching it. Oh and the scene Glenn Beck uses of Gandalf saying "You shall not pass." But she was a good sport. I told her from the beginning, I claimed one of the NZ ports for LOTR and I would pay for her tour. We really got to see a lot in the little time we had in Wellington, I would fully recommend Rover Tours to anyone wanting to see some LOTR locations. And lunch was provided and was delish!

First two off the ship, fifth and sixth from the last to get back on. It was a cram-packed day.

For Flight of the Concords fans, Bret and Jermaine hail from this wonderful town of Wellington. They were in town, but we didn't see them. 

Back on the boat...

Some of you may know that my personal bubble can tend to be quite large, i.e. don't get really close to me. This mostly pertains to the general public or when I am frustrated. Well, these British people have no bubble at all. In the queues, they push right up against you. I about had a panic attack while waiting for the chocolate fondue. I made Sandy switch me spots, but here comes the lady right after me. Is one foot of space asking too much?

A lot of people are getting off here in Sydney. Hopefully, we will be replacing them with some younger Aussies on this segment.

crj

We are on Circular Quay right now, outside of the McDonald's. They have free-internet, but it is kind of slow. Will be posting pictures as soon as possible. Until then!