Our ship docked in Wellington at 9:00 am. Right after breakfast we disembarked and met our tour guide on the wharf. Today was LOTR Middle Earth filming locations. It was a cold day, with gray skies and raining. Oh well, raincoats and umbrellas it was.

We started out with the Hobbit’s Hideaway. On top of Mt. Victoria was the road and tree Frodo stood beside when he yelled, “Get off the road” to Merry, Sam and Pippen when they were on the path to Rivendell. Very close to this spot was the location where the Hobbit’s hid beneath the bank hiding from the Nazgûl (aka Ringwraiths & Dark Riders) who was searching for Frodo.

         
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Then it was off to Kaitoke Regional Park, home to clear rushing rivers and untouched rainforest. It provided the backdrop that became Rivendell and the Fords of Isen during the filming of Lord of the Rings. The Hutt River was used to film the Fords of Isen in The Two Towers.

  
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We visited that spot in the park where the Gardens of Isengard was filmed and where Gandalf rode his horse up to the steps of Orthanc tower to meet with Saruman. Our guide had a hidden stash of long staffs under a bush. He had us choose from them for a photo op. Then it was tea and cakes back at the van.

         
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As soon as tea was done, we started along the River Walk which took us alongside the Pakuratahi River and through the beautiful native bush with mature Rimu trees. We came across various Lord of the Rings filming sites and passed under the Rivendell Gates with a life-size elven arch to mark the spot.

           
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We finished our tour by crossing and recrossing the swing bridge.

      
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It was a 45-minute drive back to the Wellington Cruise Terminal. We arrived at 1:00 pm and immediately went for a leisurely lunch aboard the Noordam. The rest of the day was spent lounging about the ship and trying to warm up after our tour in the cold rain.

    
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We weighed anchor and departed Wellington at 5:00 pm.