New Zealand is well known for being the filming site of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies (in fact, it may be the only thing that some Americans know about New Zealand). Filming took place in various places across both islands of New Zealand, but the plurality of scenes were filmed around Wellington, since this is where Weta Studios (and Peter Jackson's home) are located. Side note: after being accepted to Victoria University of Wellington, I found out that I coincidentally know two people who have a friend/family member who worked on LOTR at Weta Studios in Wellington (shoutout to Gouge's dad and my mom's friend Brian haha). Remember that whole "six degrees of separation" theory? Anyways, here are some photos from a trip out of Wellington to explore some of the filming locations of Return of the King, as well as some other photos of stuff I've been up to lately.
 |
| The view from my front porch at 7am (see, I do get up for my 8am class sometimes!) |
 |
| Taken from my bedroom window on the craziest weather day thus far here. Wind up in the hills where I live was literally 36 mph, and apparently in some more open areas around Wellington there were gusts upwards of 50 mph. I wish I were kidding. |
 |
| A day with much nicer weather, taken from my friend's apartment (while we were booking flights to the south island for our spring break trip!!!) |
 |
| Dinner with Ivan, a UCEAP tradition! Last week the 11 other UC students and I were treated to an amazing restaurant meal with our program coordinator and his wife. Since the whole meal was paid for, everyone kinda went all out and got drinks, appetizers, and desserts (well, supposedly "paid for", although the real story is probably that I paid for this already in program fees to UCEAP) |
 |
| Our LOTR set hunting itinerary! I couldn't help but laugh at Andrea's commentary at the top. |
 |
| This is at Harcourt Park, aka LOTR's Gardens of Isengard. We randomly found an area with tiny streets, complete with tiny signs, a tiny roundabout, and this tiny crosswalk. Naturally, I made them pretend to be the Beatles. |
 |
| Driving through the Aorangi Mountains. Yes, that is snow on the side of the road. This area was beautiful, and the fact that it's only about an hour away from sunny beaches is just crazy. |
 |
| Putangirua Pinnacles, aka LOTR's Paths of the Dead. As cool as these rock formations look in this photo, nothing can compare to walking through them in person. This was definitely one of the coolest things I've seen in New Zealand so far. |
 |
| Standing amongst the Pinnacles. |
 |
| Another photo at the Pinnacles. |
 |
| The beautiful Cape Palliser. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the waves here were SO rough crashing against the rocks, unlike any beach I've seen before. Part of the road we drove in through actually had water flowing over it. |
 |
| Aside from the frightening crashing waves, Cape Palliser is also home to a seal colony! The seals were so cute and actually let you get fairly close to them. |
 |
| Another photo of the frightening rough current at Cape Palliser. This beach puts Goat Rock to shame. |
 |
| The lighthouse at Cape Palliser. Due to being short on time, we didn't actually go up to it, but based on the stairs we would've had to climb up there (that almost vertical white line to the right of the lighthouse in the photo), I can't say that I'm too disappointed. My leg muscles certainly aren't. |
 |
| Driving back along the coast. |
 |
| One of the prettiest sights I've seen in my life. Between the field of sheep, mountains in the distance, and amazing clouds, this photo gives a good idea of what being in New Zealand is all about. |