Hey everyone! Lauren here. We have been very busy and very bad at writing lately. Our last post was nearly 2 months ago, and we will likely lag behind until we get back home and do a bit of catching up. We have just been so busy adventuring!
So to begin where we left off, I will tell you about our time visiting two Lord of the Rings filming locations and fur seals near Wellington! We were there around the beginning of February, which is right in the middle of summer so we had amazing and sunny weather!
Putangirua Pinnacles/Dimholt Road
Our first full day staying in Wellington we drove...out of Wellington. It was a very necessary trip, as it was to visit two filming locations for Lord of the Rings! The first filming location we visited is called the Putangirua Pinnacles. The Putangirua Pinnacles were used to film a scene in the Return of the King when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli take the Dimholt Road to ride to meet the Army of the Dead before the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to drive to the trailhead from our Airbnb in Wellington, but the drive was beautiful which helped pass the time quickly. After parking at the trailhead and lathering on sunscreen since it was so sunny out, we began the hike to the pinnacles!
The Hike on the Dimholt Road
Soon we were beginning the hike! The walk to pinnacles was a fairly easy hike along a dry stream bed, but as soon as we got to the actual pinnacles we began an uphill hike on pretty loose rock. Walking on loose rock is by far my least favorite terrain, but we were walking through super cool looking and eroded earth pillars made everything okay.
The pinnacles looked like they were stacks of very loose rock about to fall over at any moment, but apparently they only erode at a rate of 1 cm per year. It was very easy to picture Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas riding horses between the pinnacles, although we could only guess at the exact place they used to film.
After walking between the pinnacles for a while, we headed to another section of the trail, which leads to an overlook point. It was very steep, but was a well constructed trail which made it easier than walking on the loose rock.
It was cool to look out over the top of the pinnacles! After snapping a few photos, we headed back to our rental car.
Seal Colony at Cape Palliser
After finishing the hike, we drove further east around the North Island's coast to the Cape Palliser Seal Colony. The fur seal colony at the cape is the North Island's largest, which is good because I think seals are awesome.
There were so many seals sleeping on rocks at the shore, and many swimming circles in the water. It was very windy, but we could still hear outrageously loud, and... interesting? sounds coming from the seals.
Based on research I did on the seals (yeah, nature nerd here), the breeding season is from mid-November to mid-January. This was very apparent because we saw many pups hanging out at the cape!
Rivendell (Kaitoke Regional Park)
After hanging out and admiring the seals for a while, we began our drive back towards Wellington. On our way back, we made a very necessary stop at Kaitoke Regional Park. This park was used for Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings movies! The park is pretty big, and the actual location is at the Pakuratahi Forks car park, which is fairly deep into the park. Luckily, there are several signs that literally say Rivendell leading to the correct car park.
The walk from the car park was very short, and there were several signs leading the way. I'm thankful there were signs, as we would have never been able to find the right place without them! None of the set remains except for one Rivendell-esque replica elvish archway that was added to the park as a memorabilia, and the forest has grown up quite a bit since the movie was filmed.
We had to use our imagination to get ourselves to Rivendell, but the cicadas were super loud which didn't make it easy. I highly doubt there were cicadas in Rivendell. There were also a few signs on the short loop walk which had a map of the original set, and Gerrod and I took time to try to find recognizable trees or stumps in the area.
After exploring Rivendell, and a quick photo shoot near the archway, we headed back towards our car.
Loop Walk in Kaitoke Park
Since it only took us about half an hour to explore Rivendell, we decided to do the loop walk which was right near the Pakuratahi Forks car park. The walk began with a swing bridge across the river, and was just a quick loop. There were several signs around the trail with information about the New Zealand rainforest environment, which I loved because of nature and stuff. The walk only took 15-30 minutes, and was a great way to learn about the forest habitat without harassing google.
Back to the Airbnb
After our stop at Kaitoke Regional Park, we headed back to Wellington! We stopped at New World to get groceries for dinner on our way home since we are on a budget. We made steak and rice for dinner and shared a bottle of wine, which made us feel fancy.
Until next time!
Lauren (and Gerrod)
