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  • Day 480

    Being denied entry into Mordor

    June 11, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    We woke up to a pretty gloomy looking day. After our morning routine and getting ready we set off to enjoy some more of NZ. On Campermate we discovered that two film locations for the LOTR happen to be on the next road from our campsite. One is where Gollum strangles Sam near Mordor and the second is a stream by a waterfall where Gollum sings a song while eating a fish from the river. We decided to drive up to the Mordor setting first because the cloud was rolling in thick and fast and already part of Mt. Doom (Mt. Ngauruhoe) in the distance was covered. On the app we were advised we could park in the ski resort at the very end of the road and then walk to the left of the chair lift up the hill for 15 minutes to get amazing views of the Mordor setting. We did as advised however when we got to the chair lift we discovered automated barriers. We asked the gentlemen if we could go through up to see the film location over the ridge and he wasn't too sure but did say we needed to get a sight seeing pass. We headed to the ticket office only to discover a pass is $35 each. This included a chair lift ride, something we asked if we didn't have to do but there was no option for a cheaper pass. We got the impression even if we bought this we'd only be allowed to head up the chair lift and explore up the top area and not walk around where we wanted to anyway. In the end we decided it wasn't worth the money especially because it was getting more cloudy by the minute so we left disappointed and heading back down the hill. At least the drive up there was very impressive especially with all the snow on the volcanoes. Back towards the start of the road we did the 15 minute return walk to Tawhai Falls, now known as Gollums Pool. The waterfall was very picturesque and almost postcard like. It did some what make up for our failed attempt to go to Mordor. As we plan to come back here in summer I'm hoping we can explore a little bit more and hopefully when the ski field is closed we will be able to get to the area we wanted to go to. It seems other people achieved it in summer so I'm optimistic we can too. After leaving the falls we began our drive towards Taupo stopping on the way at the site where once stood a Maori village on Lake Rotoaira. Although there wasn't much of a village left it gave us beautiful views of the lake and volcanoes beyond. We've also never seen so many black swans together before as we did here. Back on the road our journey eventually took us to the bottom of Lake Taupo. The town of Taupo is nearer to top of the lake so we had a picturesque drive as we made our way up there. It was a shame that it had become so cloudy as I'm sure we would of been able to see so much more if it wasn't. After some lunch in a cafe and visiting the i-site we visited the Huka Falls, the most turquoise powerful waterfall I think I've ever seen. The water was moving at such an incredible speed that the sound, vibration and sight just mesmirised you. Although it's a tiny waterfall in height it was one of the more impressive ones we've seen for other reasons. We spent quite a bit of time just enjoying it and walking around to see it from all angles. It's predicted to be a pretty windy night tonight so we've booked into a powered site and spent the evening doing laundry and cooking in the kitchen. We had an issue with the dryer but luckily the man in reception paid for it to go on again which was very nice of him. We're parked under a huge tree so I'm hoping it doesn't get too windy tonight but we shall see!Read more