It has been a couple of months since we returned from our wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand when I was sharing our adventures. Sometimes life takes a dramatic turn and for a while everything seems to stop. During our last few days in New Zealand my elderly mother became critically ill. We unexpectedly returned to England and very sadly, just before Christmas, we lost her. Memories of our trip faded and somehow, at that moment, seemed trivial. But we pick up the pieces and try to move forward. During my mother’s ninety years she traveled the world and cherished her adventures. Life isn’t about the destination but about the journey, what we do and experience on our journey and the memories we create. Maybe this is why I write my blog, creating a record to live on for always. This post is written with that in mind, trying to carry on, living. Sharing the joy I found in a beautiful country, one that my mother, who I’ll forever hold in my heart, knew and loved and would be so happy to know I loved too.
The drive to Glenorchy
Picking up from where I left off, we were in Queenstown, on the south island of New Zealand and on the 17th day of our trip we drove to Glenorchy, a 30 minute drive from Queenstown. We followed the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu to its’ tip, known locally as Head of the Lake, to find the small farming community of Glenorchy. It was a stunning drive made world famous for being the backdrop for many of the locations in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, movies.
Site of Amon Hen in Lord of the Rings, Lake Wakatipu
This serene spot was just a few minutes on our journey. The crystal clear water and whisper of cloud visible around the corner was very evocative, and I have to confess I’ve only seen snippets of the Lord of the Rings movies!
Bennetts Bluff Viewpoint
A little further on we reached Bennetts Bluff,
more mystical views of Lake Wakatipu set against a serene mountain backdrop,
It is possible to walk along the lakeside trails to become immersed in this entrancing scenery.
Glenorchy
When we reached Glenorchy it felt like stepping back in time. Sat next to the flat plains by the lake, it still had the appearance of a small settlement. Houses scattered along a grid of streets, a few supply shops where it seemed as if little had changed for decades. Former farm tracks had become roads and businesses metamorphosed into coffee shops and small restaurants for the tourists. Our first stop was to perhaps it’s most well known site, the Wharf Shed. prominently positioned in the center of the little town next to the lake.
Glenorchy was originally settled as a sheep station when there were no roads back to Queenstown, travel was by boat on the lake and then later also by train. This iconic ‘red barn’ shed was built by the New Zealand Railways Department as a goods shed for freight, mostly farm equipment, sheep, farm produce and goods that was transported between Glenorchy and Queenstown.
We enjoyed a quick lunch of a delicious homemade pie and then set off to explore the area north of Glenorchy where we knew there were many more Tolkien film locations. We weren’t quite sure though, how we were going to know when we’d found them!
The scenery continued to be a marvel.
Not surprisingly we passed flocks of sheep,
and eventually reached the end of the lake.
Here the road became a dirt track.
We found ourselves navigating across fords, fortunately we had rented a four wheel drive. The local cows were unperturbed by our presence,
although we did illicit the odd, slightly questioning stare.
To our surprise, as we approached the edge of a small wood, the SAT Nav actually told us we were in ‘Hobbit country’. Was it a hobbit that was responsible for the scampering we’d just heard amongst the trees?
We decided not to find out and started our return journey back to Queenstown.
Moke Lake Loop
On route we took a short detour to Moke Lake, another place I’d read about and wanted to visit.
It was a tranquil spot,
where we walked along the rim trail for about an hour.
Reluctantly we tore ourselves away.
It was hard to believe we were in the southern hemisphere, thousands of miles from a place which, to us is what this rugged, unspoiled place so closely resembled, Scotland.
It made me think how the early settlers to this part of the world must have felt. Having travelled so far and for so many weeks, through so many vastly diverse places, they arrived in New Zealand to a place which looked so similar to where they’d started their journey from.
They must have felt a sense of belonging, a recognition. A place so far away, but so familiar. So beautiful and so reminiscent of the rolling mountain scapes and glistening stretches of water on the lochs they’d left behind. Maybe that’s why they stayed, they felt like they’d come ‘home’….
Beautiful