Twizel - Battle of Pelennor Fields (LOR)

BLOG 28 - 

Looking back at Port Chalmers 

We leave Dunedin and Port Chalmers on a short cut route given to us by our delightful hostess of two days Tara and head north up the east coast. Today we are heading to Twizel, a town established in 1968 to give workers who built the major hydro electric dams on the central lakes a temporary home. When that project was completed Twizel fell quiet but as the area developed as a mountain and lake leisure resort fortunes and prosperity returned. Twizel also featured prominently as a Lord of the Rings location (Battle of Pelennor Fields) that Jacky wants to see to tick off her list as an intrepid hobbit fan.

The coast line at  Moeraki

First stop it's another famous Kiwi landmark - the Moeraki Boulders. These huge 1m across marbles are strewn along the windswept coast like large cannon balls; you really have to view them at low tide. They have been formed over millions of years by a layering process a bit similar to how oyster pearls are formed. We were fortunate and took a few good pictures. We had a nice cafe lunch and then headed a few miles north to turn inland at Oamaru . 

The new suit case!

We had been wanting to obtain another suitcase as our purchases and souvenirs had multiplied but we were concerned that we have to load all these possessions on to an aircraft and there was a strict weight limit. We had to have a rethink and different strategy if we were going to get everything on the plane. We spotted an out of town retail park and went to investigate. After a frantic search we saw a case with the beautiful Milford Sound Mitre Peak engraved all over it and that was that - another purchase and another packing headache!!

heritage Oamaru

Oamaru is a pleasant sleepy harbour town famous for its heritage precinct harbour, built on the wealth of grain and refrigerated meat transportation. In its heyday in the 1880s this town was the same size as Los Angeles at the same date.  There are many imposing limestone buildings which show off that prosperity. The bank and opera house buildings are impressive and the harbour warehouses are now a mixture of book shops, galleries and cafes. We had a very pleasant walk and just had to taste the local ice cream as we walked in and out of the quaint lanes and alley ways. It was poignant to see a second hand book shop full of soiled books from the Christchurch earthquake. These Kiwis don't miss a trick and out of the face of adversity there is always a chance to make a living...

We now were heading west along the Waitaki valley towards the central lakes and dams that form the huge water reservoirs that feed most of the Christchurch and Canterbury area with its water supply. Water may be the big liquid here but another is catching the headlines - wine. I have talked in earlier blogs about Otago Pinot Noir and the Gibbston Valley, also Marlborough Region, Hawke's Bay and those wines around Nelson. All great grape varieties that further this country's reputation on the world map of wines. Now you can add Waitaki wines to the ever growing list. Pinot Gris and Riesling are particularly respected here and two of the main vineyards are well named as Sublime Wines and Vintners Drop.

The dam on Lake Benmore

We stop to view some amazing dam structures and earth works which now sub divide the river into several reservoir lakes. Salmon and trout fishing, mountain biking, water skiing, sailing, golf, trekking (tramping) and camping are now popular in this once quiet river valley. These crystal clear lakes are certainly impressive and provide an outdoor enthusiast haven for all the family.. The upper Waitaki hydro electric power scheme created two new lakes and several canal systems and was a major construction feat of landscape engineering which took over thirty years to complete.

We arrive at our hotel in Twizel ( named after Twizel Bridge in Northumberland) in good time to have a nice meal in readiness for our Lord of the Rings (LOR) highlight tour to Pelennor Fields, in actual fact a working sheep ranch. The only reason we turned back inland towards the Southern Alps again to come to this part of NZ rather than continue towards Christchurch was to visit two major ( and picturesque) LOR locations which again highlights and is synonymous with the raw beauty this country has to offer the adventurous traveller.

The LOR location at Twizel and mountain backdrop 

As somebody who has worked in film and TV production I was also really interested in this particular location. The great ability of a film maker is in creation, working in conjunction with a good technical back up team to be able to make best use of a location and utilising if possible the local resources and backdrop. Taking different camera angles at different times of the day, e.g. arial photography, sunsets, mounted cameras, can put several different scenes from various parts of a script 'in the can' from one location. 

Close up shots can then as required be filmed either in Studio or on an external set close to the main central home or unit base thereby cutting down on travel and associated expenses. Even fictitious story telling is in the real world and therefore finance controlled. It was my personal frustration in the latter years of my career that on more and more occasions it was budget that determined priorities and disciplines like health and safety and crew welfare were at times compromised and restricted. Not so however on this film with a £400 million budget to create the three majestic LOR trilogies. 

An example of this good use of resources was in the protection of animals used on this set. 270 horses from all over the country were shipped in to provide mounts for the Rohirrim or Gondorian Warriors for the major battle scenes (increased to look like several thousand horses through the use of a clever 'blue screen' film technique). The whole 32 day filming schedule was dictated by the rest periods and feeding of the animals. Of course this meant that for the film extra this could mean 14hours a day on set, mostly standing around. Being a film extra is based on the premise that you are doing this for adventure, love, glory and being a star for a moment of time, not for the day fee and long hours! A bonus is that you are fed well and what a conversation piece it must have been in the local pubs in the evening telling each other what stars you had been close to and what role you played etc. To make the feeling of stardom complete you would keep your face make up on as much as possible to enhance the exaggerated story  of your day. I should know, I have been a film extra in my day when Crew sometimes have to step in to fill vacant spots.

Sunset on The Pelennor Fields

The filming took place on private land and as such we hired an official guide to take us. The lady had worked as an extra on the film as indeed did  most of the Twizel residents in the year 2000. The backdrop of the Southern Alps giving the LOR Ered Nimrais snowy mountain chain and the grassy plains the remote location battle scene but yet only a couple of miles in reality away from the perfect unit and production base and central accommodation for crew and cast. What a pleasant sunset and as part of the deal we had nibbles and champagne watching the sun going down over the Southern Alps.

Twizel was all about the LOR location and tomorrow we are off to another - Mount Sunday (Edoras) in Canterbury High Country way up in a very remote area of outstanding beauty with a few kilometres of 'unsealed road' to contend with just to get there! Nancy Nissan was performing admirably and we had every confidence that we will make our destination. 

The hotel we were in tonight is very comfortable so I expect a good night's kip for an early breakfast and a trip to the remote valley east of Mount Cook..

DKT

Blog 29 to follow - Mount Potts and onwards to Christchurch