Fjordland
04 - 07 February 2023
Waterfalls on our Milford Sound tour
Our next stop was Te Anau, our stepping off place for the fjords. We hate Te Anau. Our bad luck started there.
But first, on our way to Te Anau, we went on another LOTR locations hunt. We took a detour down a gravel road to the Mavora lakes. Here we saw where Frodo and Sam crossed the Anduin on their way to Mordor.
If you look hard, you may see two hobbits disappearing into the trees
We also found the tree where Pippin and Merry hid from the orcs.
Our next stop was the place where the Eorlingas burned the defeated Orcs, and where Sam and Pippin escaped to Fangorn Forest.
We checked into the Distinction Luxmore Hotel. We’ve had good luck with Distinctions, so thought nothing of it. We should add here that some of the smaller hotel chains in NZ do not have air conditioning. Most days are cool enough that its not needed. However, this time, we found our room faced west… was about 85 degrees and all we had was a fan. Julie saw another fan in the hallway, and took it….so we had two fans. We did not sleep well that night.
On Sunday, we had a bus ride to Milford Sound, where we would be getting on a boat to take a fjord cruise. Julie did not do her homework, so chose the wrong clothes, her skort and sandles. She did not realize there would be walking involved (which was why you don’t see her outside in most of the pictures). It was raining, so we were a little bummed.. but boy were we wrong!!! We saw over 2000 waterfalls that day. It was incredible, and dramatic!!
One of the few permanent waterfalls on our drive. It was a bit livelier than normal.
Notice how the wind is blowing the water upwards
Another example of the power of the wind and rain
Top of Lunch Box
On the way back, we took a couple of short walks, the last one being another waterfall that our guide, Reece, wanted to see with all the rain. You can see us coming out of the Homer tunnel. The last picture was Lake Te Anau.
On Monday, we took a bus, boat, bus and another boat to Doubtful Sound. The weather was a little nicer, but still cloudy and rainy. Doubtful was not nearly as dramatic as Milford, but it was still a wonderful day. Julie wore better clothes for this trip. Below you see a thousand year old tree, more waterfalls, the Tasman Sea and some fur seals and us.
That night we ate at the Redcliff Cafe, a favorite spot of the LOTR crew while they were filming. Anthony and Julie both ordered the venison, and both agree it was one of the best meals they have ever had. They have a shirt signed by the cast hanging from the wall.
On our way out of town, we stopped by a bird sanctuary where we were able to see a Takahe along with others. The Takahe were thought extinct, but were discovered in remote areas of NZ mountains.
Below you see a Paradise Shellduck, a Antipodes Island Parakeet and the famous Takahe.
We also went on another LOTR location site. This one was not a specific scene, but was used for shots of Aragorn running within Fangorn.
