Day 344: Mavora Lake

Understand that at least 70% of New Zealand posts and places will be Lord of the Rings references. We drove 1.5 hours to the Mavora Lakes region in Fjordlands National Park.

First stop was the shore of Mavora Lakes where they shot the Fellowship landing on the beach from the river and fighting the orcs. This also includes the hill where the orcs are running down while Frodo, Merry, and Pippin are hiding; Merry and Pippin pop out to distract the orcs so Frodo can sneak away.

We hike along the lake for two hours, enjoying the beaches, valley, and little streams. We met a retired local who just camped deep in the valley with his ATV and dog for a few days.

Next we headed towards St. Nicholas and drove through a free range farm where cows and calf’s roamed, stood in the road, and looked at us. Kieran got to drive through a tiny river crossing and it was awesome. Some other filming locations include Fangorn Forest where the orcs stop with Pippin and Merry for rest AND where Gandalf calls Shadowfax after meeting up with Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas.

For dinner we cooked Japanese curry and rice. Crashed early for a hike tomorrow.

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Mavora Lake
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