“Not all those who wander are lost”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
New Zealand is an amazing place. Halfway through my 6 week New Zealand by RV odyssey (has it really been only three weeks?) and it must be time to reflect on the journey so far. Specifically I want to muse about two of the things that make this country unique (and a bit quirky). Where else can you immerse yourself in the fantasy world created by Tolkien and in the same week gaze up at a cave ceiling to see a star filled sky?
You can do it in a country that has avoided brushes with terrorism or any global political strife (they even became the first country to give women the vote, back in 1893). You can do it in a country with an exemplary safety record, where operators are monitored and guidelines are adhered to. You can do it in a country that embraces and is proud of their indigenous Maori heritage. You can do it in a friendly, welcoming place full of laid-back folk. Yes, and you can do it in a country that has amazing scenery along with those awesome people.
It’s not surprising that New Zealand is becoming known as ‘Middle Earth’. It’s as if J.R.R. Tolkien was describing New Zealand when he created Middle Earth in his books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; or possibly it was the release of the very popular movies based on these ever popular novels and the fact that the majority of the filming was done in the ever beautiful New Zealand.
Whatever it is, New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes from bubbling brooks to snow-capped peaks and lush forest valleys are truly the perfect setting for Oscar-winning filmmaker and director Peter Jackson’s and probably J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision of Middle-earth. So who can visit New Zealand without being sucked into these visions of Middle Earth. Some would blame the hobbits. When you consider the popularity of this site small little island country, it’s easy to assume it’s all the fault of those hairy-footed characters that so famously rove New Zealand’s wilds on the big screen and in our imaginations. Even Elijah Wood, The Hobbit himself, once declared:
“There’s a real purity in New Zealand that doesn’t exist in the states. It’s actually not an easy thing to find in our world anymore. It’s a unique place because it is so far away from the rest of the world. There is a sense of isolation and also being protected.” – Elijah Wood
So for most visitors, it’s impossible to visit New Zealand without a trip to Bilbo Baggins’ home in Hobbiton, near Matamata village on the north island. It was in 1998, when a farmer named Russell Alexander saw a stranger with binoculars peering across his land. Soon that interloper and his bearded boss, Mr. Jackson, returned with a request to build a “Lord of the Rings” movie set there and the shire was born.
The now popular tourist attraction is the former movie set that was permanently installed on the private farm when The Hobbit started filming, and now also boasts a fully functional English-style pub, The Green Dragon, where you can sample unique Shire Ales created by local micro-breweries. Walking the set felt so real and surreal at the same time.
The Hobbiton set is the country’s most iconic and popular attraction today with close to half a million visitors a year, but there is of course a wealth of film locations (apparently over 150) far beyond ‘the Shire’.
Hobbiton was a very cool location but if you were only able to visit one real life Lord of the Rings location in New Zealand, then the Tongariro National Park has to be it. Welcome to Mordor……
“One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume.” – Boromir, Lord of the Rings
Mordor, from Lord of the Rings fame, was placed within the desolate landscape that surrounds the three great volcanoes of Tongariro National Park. The park, visited by about a million people annually is home to phenomenal scenery and requires hard-core hiking to see properly, with an arduous eight-hour trek called Tongariro Alpine Crossing taking you through scorched terrain to emerald lakes and steam vents. Not to be one to miss a challenge hiking the Crossing was one of my must dos for New Zealand and it was worth every arduous step. It was certainly a bonus to stare up at the steep and foreboding Mount Ngauruhoe – Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. Yes this is it, the place where the one ring was forged and then ultimately destroyed by the hobbits. It is hard not to be impressed by this incredibly conical 2000 year old mountain peak, essentially a gigantic mound of ash surrounded by that phenomenal scenery.
“Mordor. The one place in Middle-Earth we don’t want to see any closer. And it’s the one place we’re trying to get to. It’s just where we can’t get. Let’s face it, Mr. Frodo, we’re lost.” – Sam
You see in the movies how this place is all dark and full of fire and gloom. Well, it could be like that in real life. This is a place of extremes. On one side you have beautiful, delicate plants and fields, and on the other, you have three active volcanoes and dry, rocky plateaus.
Lots of hikers celebrate this trek, said to be one of the very best in New Zealand but even with the number of people along the way the scenery was just breathtaking. If you visit be sure to grab your gear (you don’t want to be caught up on the mountain without proper gear) and just go.
And while in Tongariro National Park why not take the short hike to Tawhai Falls. Not only a nice place to stretch those leg muscles but also another movie set, the small waterfall that served as the setting to the scene where Gollum catches a fish.
Switching gears from Lord of the Rings movie madness, I have to say that one of the country’s best offerings is actually hidden deep underneath the green hilly landscapes of the North Island where thousands of glow-worms that light up the cave ceiling like a starry night sky. These constellations of living fairy lights are perhaps the most fantastic and ethereal of all New Zealand’s wild attractions.
“We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm.” – Winston Churchill
Unlike the regular caves you may be used to that are dark, damp and filled with crawling bugs and flying bats, these ones are loaded with hanging bioluminescent glowworms a type found only in New Zealand. This species of glow-worm, Arachnocampa luminosa, is found exclusively in New Zealand and emits a blue-green glow that illuminates the underground cave river. Though, these worms aren’t really worms, they’re a type of gnat larvae. And the glowing? The glowworm’s tail is bioluminescent. This means that the chemicals it secretes react with the oxygen in the air to create light. The glowworm’s prey is attracted to the light, kind of like its own fishing lure.
These insects are predatory and at times cannabalistic. They spin a series of silk-like sticky fishing lines suspended from the cave ceiling. After spinning dozens of these “trotlines”, its soon created a glistening, deadly chandelier used to trap flies and other bugs for them to prey on.
While in the cave I was lucky enough to watch the glow worm in action as a small fly got stuck in one of the lines. Nature in action as the glow worm inched over to the wriggling line and soon hauled up the stuck prey. From this habit springs the insect’s Latin name: Arachnocampa luminosa, spiderlike (arachno), larva (campa), that produce light (luminosa), or the glowing spider-worm.
After the glowworm reaches maturity (which can be as long as 7 months), it spins a cocoon and pupates. The males’ glow fades. The females’ intensifies. Several males may be waiting for her when she emerges. They live just long enough to mate, lay eggs, and die.
New Zealand has numerous opportunities to see and tour glow worm caves the most famous area being around Waitomo on the North Island. It would have been easy to book with the most popular tour company and join the bus loads full of people in the most visited caves but instead on the recommendation of the helpful information office I ended up with Spellbound Tours and what a find! Our tour guide was top notch, full of information about the caves and the glow worms and not for a second did we feel like we were a herd of cattle on a forced march!
After touring the two caves and heading back to the office I wanted more. And in this case all I had to to was ask (and pay for it of course!). Later that evening our guide Zane and I headed back to the caves for photography opportunities. We spent nearly three hours in the glow worm cave and it was magical. To be human in the caves where these worms dwell is to feel like you’ve entered something out of Tolkien (yep, Lord of the Rings again), or at least live on what must be one of the most extraordinary planets in the universe. The cave roof glows silently like a long, living Milky Way. So beautiful is the ceiling that it nearly brings a tear to your eyes. What a fabulous planet we live on. You could travel for millions of light years and not see this.
“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” – Stephen Hawking
Ultimately, life in New Zealand, just like life in Middle Earth is about one thing: adventure.
The main characters (hobbits, mostly) all start their adventures by abandoning the comfort of their own homes in exchange for a winding road of danger, fear and fearsome creatures. And yet, these are the stories we all long to be a part of, because there is no greatness and glory without the uncertainty of these winding roads.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door…You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Of course, any of these characters could have just stayed home, or turned back when the going got tough. But even if the fate of the world didn’t rest on their shoulders, we bet they’d regret it the minute they crossed the threshold and found themselves back to their boring old lives. Because if you don’t leave home and embark on your adventure, you will never really live at all and that is what traveling is about.
“Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
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