Vacation 2013 - Wellington, New Zealand - more LOTR sites: not quite the same without the movie sets

This is a day where we learned a lot about the deceptiveness of movies.  We learned that many movie scenes were actually a combination of CGI, filming in the studio, on-site sets on the North Island, and backgrounds of the scenes from the South Island, usually somewhere near Queenstown.  Some of the filming of scenes themselves were also completed in Queenstown.  Other examples are where a person may have been filmed in a river in one place, but where they were filmed "washed ashore" was the bank of a completely different river.

Our day started at the Port in Wellington.  One could choose about a 30 minute walk to get downtown, or one had the option of taking a round trip shuttle ticket for $15.  Of course, if you booked a shore excursion from the boat, the transportation left directly from the dock.  We booked an independent tour this time as it was much cheaper, and the hours still worked with the cruise ship's itinerary.  By this day we were awfully exhausted of all the tours, so we chose a half day tour and decided not to stay in New Zealand for more sight seeing after the tour.  As we had booked a tour, we did not have to take a shuttle, but we did have to take a "security transport" vehicle off the dock area, where we waited for our tour bus to arrive.

The tour was pretty good (minus the fact that the movie sets weren't still there - we knew that in advance).  What I liked most is that they showed clips from the movies of the places that we were going to, and also clips from the extras on the DVDs.  Sometimes it was difficult to imagine the scenes had taken place at those places, but they did also bring some still pictures to help us out.  They even brought props so tour members could pose if they chose to.  I also learned a lot of interesting information about Viggo Mortensen.  It sounds like he is a very admirable individual.

Instead of explaining where each of the pictures are taken, we'll play a guessing game. Guess which LOTR movie site or sequence was filmed at each location

1.  A Quarry outside of Wellington. Which 2 Lord of the Rings locations were filmed at this Quarry

2.  A city park in Wellington - several movie scenes were filmed at this park, including the scenes of the Orcs pulling down the trees.  Which scene was filmed in this portion of the park.  Hint:  one of the trees in the scene is no longer there as it did not survive a storm there from a few years ago.  Also, a portion of the section of the park has been planted with a different variety of grass.

3.  At the same city park as the picture above - What scene of the movie was filmed in this part of the park.  HINT:  notice the two individuals in the picture.  They are re-enacting the scene.  Look closely at their props.

4.  The individual in the picture is posing to give you a clue.  Also, there is a hint in the text of the blog post.

5.  This is not an actual scene from the movie, but it is a scene related to the movie.  The girl in the picture is playing the role of Legolas.

6.  I'm giving you a big hint by telling you that this picture was taken at Kaitoke Regional Park in New Zealand.  Which city from Lord of the Rings was recreated here?

Please answer by e-mailing me, or adding a comment with your answers.  Earl, I expect you to get 100% on this quiz.

Vacation 2013 - Akaroa, NZ - French New Zealand; Edoras, Rohan

In Akaroa, we did a "Lord of the Rings" tour, but really we only visited one site from the Lord of the Rings.  While preparing for the trip, we had considered doing the "Eastern Bays Scenic mail run" which has received incredible reviews.  Unfortunately, we were in Akaroa on Sunday, and the mail is not delivered on Sunday.  But, for anyone else considering a visit to Akaroa, you might want to consider the option if you are not in town on a Sunday.

The ride itself was beautiful, but being on the bus for so long was not my favorite thing in the world.  We also did stop at Salmon World (for a bathroom stop), and in another small town (Stavely) for morning tea.  We ate lunch at a little restaurant on the station (Mt. Potts Station) where the Lord of the Rings site is.  We also got out at a few other places for viewpoints of various sites and to stretch our legs.

Salmon World

We stopped for morning tea at Stavely Hall

A view somewhere along our trek

Another scenic view

The Lord of the Rings site was Mount Sunday.  Mt. Sunday is where the Rohan Capital of Edoras was.  Keep in mind, the set's of the movies are no longer there.  Basically, it looked like a small knoll with all of the Mountains in the background dwarfing it in size.  It was interesting to learn what parts of the set were actually built on the site, what parts were added with CGI, and which parts were actually filmed in the studio in Wellington.

Mt. Sunday AKA Edorras, Rohan.  The mountains in the back are much taller, unfortunately you cannot see this as the clouds are occluding the view

Posing with a dwarf axe in front of Mt. Sunday

A View near Mt. Sunday

A creek near Mt. Potts Station

A view near Akaroa, New Zealand

 Our tour guides themselves were quite interesting.  One of them had been the body double (not stunt double) for Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings Films, and one of the Oscar-winning sound editors, Hammond Peek.

Hammond Peek

Vacation 2013 - Picton, NZ - a beautiful drive through mountains and vineyards

This was the 3rd day of 4 port days in a row.  We did not have any plans for Picton before we left, but my dad did reserve a car for us in case we decided that is what we wanted to do.  At this port, our ship actually docked in Shakespeare Bay because it was too large to dock at Akaroa itself.  Unfortunately, with our car, we had paid an extra fee to have the rental car at the port (which we weren't docked at).  The area did provide free shuttles to the town, however, and where they dropped us off wasn't too long of a walk to the other port.

When we first arrived at the rental office, we weren't sure if we were going to have a car, because the woman told us that they got their cars from Christchurch, and the cars hadn't arrived yet for the day. Fortunately, they must have had some left overs from the day before, because they delivered us a car, which in the end was quite expensive after all of the added fees.

The Marlborough area where Picton is located has developed into quite the wine country.  So we drove South of Picton past Blenheim - I can't remember if we made it to Seddon or not.  Then we turned around and drove towards Nelson, stopping at the McDonalds in Blenheim for internet access and to check out a local grocery store.  We didn't quite make it there due to wanting to get back to the ship on time, and due to the windy roads.  The drive both ways was beautiful.  Here are some pictures.

A view south of Picton

This cow, near one of the vineyards, was posing for one of the pictures.  I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but she was not where she was supposed to be.  She was in a different field than the other cows in the background.

We took a lot of pictures of cattle and sheep on our trip - you would think we had never seen any in our lives!  We also took many pictures of farm machinery.  I think there are more John Deere Dealerships in each of Australia and New Zealand individually than there are in the US.

We thought we had spotted some Kiwi birds in one of the towns on our ride to Picton.  On closer inspection of the picture, this is not a kiwi bird, as it has tail feathers.

Near Picton, NZ

A view to show how long the vineyard rows are - this picture does not do justice to how great the expanses of vineyards are, though!

West of Picton - cattle lined up, walking back to get milked

Also, in New Zealand and Australia, they drive on the opposite side of the road, just like in Britain, so being a passenger was a bit scary for me, and took a little getting used to - especially with all the windy roads on the sides of mountains.  I survived, though!

Vacations 2013 - Dunedin, NZ - A train ride and Men in Kilts

For our day in Dunedin, we had wanted to take the Taieri Gorge Railway. Booking privately was definitely cheaper than booking through the cruise ship.  Unfortunately that was not an option for us based on the times the train departed and the times our ship was there (at least according to the online schedule).  Unfortunately, all of the Taieri Gorge Railway shore excursions were booked as well, so we weren't sure we would get to go on the train at all.  We put ourselves on the waiting list and hadn't heard anything.  About 2 days before we reached Dunedin, they did call and tell us there were some spots available, but only for the train trip and not the shore excursion we had waitlisted ourselves on, which also included a trip to Lanarch Castle.  We wanted to do the train, so we signed up for the excursion.

Cruise ship at the dock near Dunedin, NZ

Some of the scenery and a view of the engines

They raise thoroughbreds in the Dunedin region

I like the picture of the train on one of the trestles

More of the scenery

A view of the inside of our car.  I believe our car was the 1920's.  I don't think the flourescent lights are original to the car.  Of all the cars I peaked into, I liked ours best, and it was quite comfortable.  We were also fed morning tea, beverages, and lunch on the train ride.

Another view of one of the trestles we crossed

You can see the river in this picture.

The train ride picked us up right at the dock and went through some beautiful country.  If you are able to book your own tickets, though, I would recommend the cheaper option.  We did get back to town a bit before we had to be back on the ship (although the ship was docked a little ways from town so we had to take a shuttle bus back from the dock).  In town, the were having some sort of festival or competition.  There were several Pipe and Drum bands around performing at the octagon and practicing around the Octagon.  They also had a free wi-fi tent set up near the ship, but we did not get back in enough time to utilize it much.

The train station

A pipe and drum band performing at the octagon

Another pipe and drum band

A couple more pipe and drum bands practicing

Interesting Fact:  Dunedin is home to the steepest street in the world - Baldwin street.  We did not get a chance to visit it.

Vacation 2013 - Fiordlands National Park, New Zealand

After 2 days at sea, we visited Fiordlands National Park.  Technically, we were still on the boat all day long, but we were cruising the the National Park. We cruised through Milford Sound (the most well known or most popular one), Thompson Sound, Dusky Sound, Breakaway Sound, and Doubtful sound (not necessarily in that order).  The day was a bit misty at times, and it did rain some, but overall the weather wasn't too bad, and it gave the pictures a mysterious feel.  I don't really have much to say about the day, so most of this post will be pictures.  

PS - I did not necessarily choose the best pictures, as I was trying to decide which ones to post from thumbnails.  The pictures may be updated later.

Pictures from Fiordlands National Park, NZ

Vacation 2013 - Tasmania, Australia - more animals, old trees, and sheep

We arrived at the port in Hobart, Tasmania after a day spent at sea (sea days will be addressed in their own post).  We were off on another day long shore excursion.  We started with another Animal Park/Sanctuary - Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, where we saw, petted, and fed some more:

Kangaroos

We also saw some kangaroos with Joeys in their pouches,

Notice the legs and tail dangling from the pouch

more koalas (we didn't get to pet them this time, though),

Koalas

more tasmanian devils (Bonorong had quite a few more than Ballarat),

Tasmanian Devils enjoying running in circles

more Wombats (when they are born, they are about the size of a jellybean),

A baby wombat (Ballarat also had a fairly young Wombat)

and a few other animals (including birds) as well.

After Bonorong we headed to Mt. Field National Park, where we were able to see some of the tallest trees in the world (Swamp Gums)

A fallen swamp gum tree, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

Russell Falls,

Russell Falls, Mt. Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia

and some Wallabies in their natural habitat.

Wallabys and Mt. Field National Park, Tasmania, Australia

Interesting tidbit: A cross between a kangaroo and a wallaby is a Wallaroo.

We left Mt. Field National Park, traveled through areas affected by the recent fires,

Tasmania bush fire aftermath

and stopped off at a sheep station/farm to enjoy a barbecue, a sheep shearing demonstration,

Bah, bah white sheep have you any wool?

a sheep dog demonstration

After the demonstration the dogs took a swim in the pond

and a tour of the farm.

Our tour guide was good at talking up all of the many wonderful aspects of Tasmania, including how it has the purest water and air in the world, how it produces ~50% of the poppies used to manufacture narcotics, and more (as you can tell, I didn't remember most of it).

After Tasmania, we spend two more days crossing the Tasman sea before we spent a day cruising around Fiordlands National Park in New Zealand.  I'll write more about that and other vacation adventures in the coming days.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  Can anyone recognize the denomination of this church we passed on our bus ride?

??