We left Blenheim without much clue as to what the South Island had in store for us. The short version? Beauty and the bugs. The long version? Keep reading.

We went to two really cool sites today: one from The Fellowship of the Ring, and one from The Hobbit. It is incredible that just from a few side trips, we can see so much from the movies.

I’m sure everyone remembers the hilarious and riveting scene from The Hobbit when the dwarves escape the Elvish lair in Mirkwood…. using wine barrels to travel down the river.

One of the sites they used to create those scenes was right at Pelorus Bridge.

It’s perfect!!! Right?

We had a lot of fun exploring around the rocks. We also took a short tramp to a suspension bridge over the river.

The bridge offered more views of the river. Plus walking through the forests here is really fun. There are dozens of different types of ferns, and moss drapes down the trees. We stopped for lunch by the sea, and continued on towards Golden Bay.

The next site we visited is a much more obscure scene, but we went off the road with determination. We were headed for Takaka Hill, which depicted the outskirts of Bree in The Fellowship.

Strider leads the hobbits into the woods.

“Where are you taking us?” The hobbits ask. “Into the wild,” is Strider’s answer. They disappear into the woods.

The South Island is pretty wild indeed. We’ve been having trouble finding reliable internet, so we apologize for the slow posts!

Cheers!

*****Written by Checkers*****

• New Zealand 2016-17