Lord of the Rings New Zealand Tour

We left Rotorua on SH 5 (also known as the Thermal Explorer Highway ) and headed towards Mt. Ruapehu . We stopped by Meads Wall, which was used to represent Mordor (during the battle between the Last Alliance and Sauron) and Emyn Muil (where Frodo and Sam meets Gollum). In the afternoon we looked at the stream in Ithilien where Gollum catches a fish. We stayed overnights at the Powderhorn Chateau (where some of the cast and crew also stayed during filming). On the way to Mt. Ruapehu We made a detour to visit the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland where we saw a lake of boiling mud. [Tip: clicking on the image allows you to view it in Live Spaces and download it in high resolution (1280x800)] The steam (and the smell) was pretty amazing! Close-ups of steam vents in the mud pool: If we stayed long enough, we will probably turn grey like the vegetation next to the pool! Another detour, this time outside Whairakei to visit Huka falls. At least 220,000 litr