The Lord of the
Rings is possibly one of the greatest stories ever told and this is not simply
my personal opinion. Almost everyone seems to be in agreement over this:
experts, the public and even… history have adequately proved that the epic
story of life and war in the Middle Earth is of unique beauty; its charms and
its depth have won over the respect and the admiration of most of us and have
proven resistant to the test of time.
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| Lord of The Rings |
J.R.R. Tolkien, the
writer of Hobbit and the three books
that complete the trilogy of The Lord of
the Rings, is today considered to be a genius, a writer that managed to
speak about the serious matters of his times through the creation of a fantasy
world that, in some ways and metaphorically speaking, resemble ours. To put it
differently, we might not be living among hobbits and elves, and thankfully
there are no orcs or Uruk-hai around neither, however, basic elements of human
life just like death, war, greed, ambition and most of all friendship are incorporated
in Tolkien’s unique literary universe. We might all hide a little Hobbit (which
reflects our kindness) inside us and, unfortunately for all of us, some people
do resemble to orcs in terms of their nastiness and potentially destructive
behavior.
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| Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, Book Covers |
Our generation came
in contact with the legendary tales of the Hobbits and men through the movies
of Peter Jackson that managed to transfer the magic to the big screen for the
first time with the success that the books always deserved. That said, even after
you watch the movies, reading the books is still highly recommended. Only by
reading Tolkien’s books one can get fully acquainted with his mysterious world;
only in there you will be able to grasp his visionary imaginary world at its
full glory.
On the other hand,
I wouldn’t want to underestimate the power of the moving image, not at all! I
myself have watched the Lord of the Rings
trilogy multiple times and of course I didn’t feel like waiting not even for a
day when the fourth installment of this epic story came to our screens last
Christmas. At this point, I do want to state that the last movie, Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (which
actually narrates the story before the time the fellowship of the ring joined
forces in order to save Middle Earth from the almighty evil of Sauron), even
if exciting, it did feel that it was
slightly less impressive than the first three movies. This is what I felt when
I saw the film a few months ago, but something tells me that this could
potentially change in the near future and after I will have the chance to watch
the movie again… and again… and again!
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| Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey |
What is more, with
the second movie of the new Hobbit trilogy coming next Christmas, one must
admittedly be patient a little bit. Nevertheless, there is a way out of the stress
of waiting till this moment comes: one can head to New Zealand where all of
Jackson’s films were shot! By booking early your GoSeeDo Attraction tickets you will have the chance to take
the Middle Earth Filming Locations Tour
and live the legend! As a big fan of Tolkien’s stories as you probably are, a
guided tour will help you bring in mind all of the glorious battles you watched
on the big screen as you will explore the beautiful Wellington region.
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| The Hobbit Holes. Photograph: Pr |
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| The Hobbit Holes. Photograph: Ian Brodie/PR |
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| A 13m-long sculpture of
Gollum diving to catch a fish awaits passengers at Wellington airport. Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP |
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| A sheep farm near Matamata, doubles as the Shire in both The Lord
of the Rings and Hobbit trilogy. Photograph: PR |
There might be
numerous regions in this world that get to be perceived and described as
paradises. For Americans, for example, Hawaii is the paradise, while for some
North Europeans the Greek Islands of Cyclades are those lands that resemble the
most to an earthy Garden of Eden. What is for sure, though, is that in the case
of New Zealand most of us would agree that we’re dealing with a geographical
region that is unique and renowned for its wild natural beauty. Its attributes
and characteristics can only bring in mind a place that doesn’t belong to this
earth, but to a rather imaginary paradise, where souls meet in the afterlife
for a bit of relaxation.
What is more is
that there is also a second choice for the Lord of the Rings fans and New
Zealand aficionados. If you choose the Palliser
Bay Seals and Lord of the Rings Sites Day, you will once again visit places
like the Great River Anduin, Riverndell and Helms Deep. However, this time you
will also enjoy a visit to a huge fur seal colony located at the Cape Palliser
Bay. Let me put it this way: fur seals are much better than orcs, don’t you
think!?
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| Rangitikei River Bend in New Zealand, used as River Anduin in LOTR |
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| Kaitoke Regional Park in New Zealand, used as Riverndell in LOTR, |
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| Angitata River valley used for Helms Deep in LOTR |
