Todady is a 'Lord of the Rings' Day with a trip to Middle Earth in the offing. A little bit twee, I know, but when I saw 'The Lord of the Rings' in the cinema I thought if I ever went to New Zealand I'd love to visit the ste of Edoras, capital of Rohan. At 9am I joined up with a group in Cathedral square to make the trip by 4-wheel drive minibus. It had a large cringe worthy 'Lord of the Rings' splashed over its sides and, winding through the city centre, passing pedestrians would glance at the logo, do a double take and then smile, probably thinking we were all crackpot 'Ring' fanatics something aloong the lines of hardcore Star Trek fans. If thats what we were meant to be then I was something of a fraud not having read any of the books. I think most of the group were like myself, had seen the films and wanted to visit some of the spectacular locations. However, one American woman did look suspiciously like a wizardess. She was tall, silver haired and thin. She had a pointed nose, wore a white jumper and trousers under a long, flowing, black overcoat. As she swished along she certainly wouldn't have looked out of place alongside Gandalf or Saruman.
It was a beautiful warm morning as we left Christchurch. Our guide, called Mike, was a friendly chap who provided a running commentary about the construction and filming of Edoras and Rohan at Mt Sunday in the Rangitata valley in the southern Alps, the spine of mountains which run the length of the South Island. For the first hour or so out of Christchurch we traveled across flat plains which brought us to the foothills of the mountain range. Unfortunately as soon as we began to climb into these mountains the clouds descended and rain began to fall.
COnstruction of the site of Edoras began in January 2000 and lasted for 8 months. Only 'The Golden Hall', some houses and some of the city walls were actually construcated. The rest of Edoras was added later by CGI. Part of the reason construction took so long is that the Rangitata valley acts as a wind tunnel. Building continued through the Southern winter and the builders sometimes faced winds of up to 120km. During these conditions work had to cease. Construction ended in August that year and filming was scheduled for September when the surrounding mountains would still have a scattering of snow on them. Filming lasted for 8 days after which the construction crew immediately dismantled the set. There had been an agreement with the landowner that there would be no lasting damage to the landscape. The site was restored to its original state.
Originally it had been planned for the filming of Edoras to take place in Wellinton. Film director, Peter Jackson, hadn't thought it possible to find a location which matched Tolkein's description of the site. As it transpired the Rangitata valley was discovered by pure chance. One of the location scouts was flying to Wellington from Queenstown and bad weather caused the pilot to deviate from the original flight plan. The new route took the plane over the Rangitata valley. The location scout on viewing the scene below him was astounded. The valley as it lay before him matched, exactly, the location of Tolkein's city, Edoras. Peter Jackson was brought down to view the valley and negotiations were opened with the landowner whom, it was believed, recieved at least 1 million for the use of his land.
As we neared Edoras Mike, the guide, delayed us hoping the rain would pass. We stopped at two scenic spots 'for photos' as he looked anxiously at the overcast skies, hoping for some break in the clouds. Eventually he couldn't delay any longer. We drove for a few minutes, crested a ridge and the valley lay before us. In spite of the wet conditions the valley looked spectacular. The distinctive craggy rock of Edoras (Mt Sunday) lay on the bottom of a broad flat valley. The rain lifted though a misty air hung over the valley, giving a soft light on the wild, boggy landscape.
As we drove down into the valley to approach Mt Sunday it felt as if we were about to visit the site of an ancient city. I had to keep reminding myself it was only a film set. Mike steered the 4-wheel drive off the gravel road and into some adjoining fields. We splashed through some streams in full flood and paked up by a gate at the base of Mt Sunday some 500-600m from the site of Edoras. A 20 min hike took us to the top of the hill where the city had been located. Mike told us the lay out of the site as it had been and where the principal buildings had been located. It really did feel like an Archaeological site and like may old historic sites it was a spectacular location. High mountains surrounded the valley. Mike pointed out the site of Helms Deep another of the landmark sites from the film, some 6-7kms away on the far side of the valley. No actual filming took place at that location though photography was used. Before long the clouds and rain closed in again and we were forced to cut the visit short as rain drops pelted us. We returned to the minibus. By 6.30pm we were back in sunny Christchurch.
I spent the evening around town checking out one or two of the bars, trying out some of the local brews. Darkness had fallen as I walked out to the hostel along Manchester street. Its funny, when you book accomodation online,you never really know what part of the city you will actually end up in. I had no idea, when I booked my hostel, that I lay just beyond the local redlight district. As I walked out of the centre along Manchester Street both sides of the road were lined by with prostitutes, plying their trade. However, they were all very friendly ladies. They all smiled and said hello as I walked by.
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