You've seen The Lord of The Rings, now you can see many of the locations where it was filmed. SALLY McKINNEY follows the trail.
From a mushroom-shaped rock at Port Waikato to remote Mavora Lakes, filmmakers shot The Lord of the Rings at scattered locations around New Zealand. The country resembles "a big film set", remarked actor Sean Bean (Boromir).
The Fellowship of the Ring, first of the New Line Cinema films inspired by the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy, hit the screens last month.
In Tolkien's beloved novel, a motley group of companions undertake a perilous journey to save Middle-earth. Sculpted by ice ages, eroded by wind, rain, and waves, New Zealand landscapes already resemble scenes from a fantasy.
"We are fortunate down here in New Zealand to have both the computer technology and the natural landscapes to bring the unique world of Middle-earth to life," said director Peter Jackson.
As an 18-year-old, Jackson began reading LOTR on a train across the North Island. Follow Frodo from Wellington to Auckland on the Overlander (day train), and windows frame bucolic farmland.
Film crews built the grassy Hobbiton set on a farm near Matamata. Although security was tight, with limits marked by yellow tape, smuggled images of Hobbiton and other sets appeared in various media during filming.
Unlike some projects, scenes shot on each location will be used for all three films. All sets have been dismantled now filming is over. Even so, wander through rural Waikato, and you can easily imagine Frodo, Merry and Pippin tramping about the Shire.
DOC allowed filmmakers to use 30 locations in national parks and reserves. At first, nature-lovers - concerned about delicate karst formations and fragile bogs - objected to filming on protected lands. However, contracts required a DOC monitor at every location, and New Line also posted "a substantial bond".
Tongariro National Park, with three dramatic volcanoes, was an obvious choice for Mordor. Between takes, ski lifts shuttled personnel uphill and down. Cameras rolling, the actors eluded - or fought off - menacing Orcs amid steam vents, lava rocks, and scoria.
They also fought hypothermia. "You didn't have to act because you were actually on this adventure," said Billy Boyd (Peregrin Took).
At day's end, film people took refuge in the vintage Grand Chateau Hotel, favoured by skiers in winter and hikers in summer.
Hike Tongariro's Northern Circuit and you'll climb rocky saddles between "conical mountains that sleep uneasily". Or pass Mt Ngauruhoe on the Tongariro Crossing and you'll recall Frodo and Sam wearily trudging up Mt Doom.
Further south, scouts chose Kaitoke Regional Park for Rivendell and River Anduin scenes. Gail Wilson and Nicola Sanderson - who worked on the films - each held fairytale weddings on the Rivendell set.
As with other locations, guests agreed to keep details secret until the film screened. Hike Kaitoke trails - now touched with Elven magic - and you'll pass native beech, rimu, and kahikatea trees, and cross cool, bubbling streams.
Near Featherston, LOTR used Fernside, a small inn known for its gardens and a picturesque river, for Silverlode river scenes, Galadriel's swan-boat and the Elven gift-giving.
Climb Mt Victoria in Wellington, and you'll be rewarded with great city and harbour views. The park on Mt Victoria became the location for Frodo and Sam leaving the Shire - "they were hiding ... from Ringwraiths?" guessed an internet spy.
Director Jackson has studios in suburban Miramar, where he made his earlier films Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners.
Visit Dry Creek Quarry, setting for Helms Deep, and recall "the echo of trumpets from forgotten armies". At Fort Dorset, filmmakers shot exterior scenes for Bree and Chetwood Forest, plus more of the Shire.
However, don't try to find the Mines of Moria, Khazad-dum or Cirith Ungol locations - those were studio scenes.
While working in Wellington, actors enjoyed meals more satisfying than "lembas wrapped in leaves". Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Sir Ian McKellan (Gandalf) and others dined occasionally at the White House.
And "somebody was always at Brava", said a New Line insider. They also relaxed at the Chocolate Fish Cafe, known for its ice cream, or at Eva Dixons Place or Two Rooms.
Outside the city, film people entertained guests at Wharekauhau Country Estate on Palliser Bay, but the wrap party took place on the waterfront's Shed 21, back in Wellington.
In the South Island, filmmakers chose Kahurangi National Park for the journey through a changing - and ever-darkening - world. Several hiking tracks (the Heaphy, Wangapeka, and Leslie-Karamea) run through this roadless region of glaciated karst, beech forests, and tussock fields.
Filmmakers shot McKellen as Gandalf climbing Mt Owen (Caradhras) in his long, regal robe.
Film crews worked amid "bizarre landscapes with a rocky pinnacle", says Mark Brabyn of Hiking New Zealand.
This nature-sensitive tour company takes small groups to explore the Matiri River Valley, climb the Needle, and camp beside a lake.
Farther south, the Southern Alps became the Misty Mountains. For spectacular views of New Zealand's highest mountains, ride the TranzAlpine train from Christchurch to Greymouth.
Filmmakers zig-zagged southward from Methven, a playground for skiiers and hikers, to Mt Sunday, used for the citadel of Edoras, home of Theoden, to Twizel, used for "a Nazgul horse chase," to a pine plantation near Tarras, used for more of "the journey".
They also filmed at beautiful Poolburn, says Charles Cramp, who was a Uruk-hai warrior for 10 days.
Conditions were rough, Cramp claims, and slightly built Liv Tyler "didn't always look comfortable".
Peter Jackson refers to "the other-worldly quality of the forests around Fiordland and Te Anau". In these magical beech forests, mosses, ferns and lichen cling to rocks and ancient, gnarled trees.
Thanks to LOTR, the ruins of Amon Hen sprouted for a while near the Dart River. This was a setting for Lothlorien, where you may recall "the night-speech of plant and stone".
Nearby, film people relaxed in a luxurious haven at Blanket Bay, a lodge on Lake Wakatipu. Dart Stables, based in Glenorchy, provided horses for the film and organises horse treks for visitors.
Clients of Dart River Jet Safari caught glimpses of filmmaking on jet boat tours, surrounded by stunning mountain scenery.
Charles Cramp's Golden Fox Tours now escorts clients to Queenstown locations - including Arrowtown, where Nazguls hunted Frodo and Sam.
At Mavora Lakes, a spy who peeked at the filming from behind trees reported what may have been Boromir's funeral.
Hikers sometimes cross Lake Wakatipu by boat to reach the trailhead for the Greenstone Track. This walk along the Greenstone was another setting for Lothlorien. Charles Cramp played a Rider of Rohan here, "much easier" than the Uruk-hai part - this character was dead.
Follow the hobbit trail around New Zealand, and you'll marvel at the landscapes. When asked about condition of locations after filming, one DOC official replied, "they left only footprints".
And it was Cate Blanchett, an Australian, who played Galadriel, who said, "You couldn't have made those films anywhere else".
LOTR Film locations around New Zealand
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