Follow in the footsteps of the Fellowship
and live a more Magical life!

Sunday November 3rd – Arrivals

Everyone arrives at our hotel in Rotorua.

You are picked up at Rotorua Regional Airport, and driven into the heart of Rotorua to our first base of operations! As the Geo Thermal capitol of New Zealand, Rotorua has unique and Mordor-esque features that will blow your mind. 

After settling into our hotel, you can wander the town until our Welcome Dinner. You will have gotten to know each other through our group calls, and now get to enjoy each other’s company!  And then have a good night’s rest to set you up for your adventure!

 

 

Monday Nov. 4th – Thermal Park tour and An evening banquet at Hobbiton!

Today we will explore the wild nature of Rotorua at a thermal park. The scenery is so unique, and so unreal it will stir your imagination to new levels. Our guide will take us on a stroll through a real Mordor! It’s incredible.

Then we head to

Hobbiton!

This evening, it’s a special Quest Retreats experience!

First we explore Hobbiton, the actual location where The Shire was brought to life.

We poke through Hobbit Holes and amble in the gardens. We can sit under the very tree Bilbo held his 111th Birthday Party!

 

 

We stroll through the evening dusk over the very bridge that we saw Gandalf take his firework laden cart over in The Fellowship of the Ring.

 

 

 

and then….Dinner at the Green Dragon! 

We will celebrate our trip tonight and toast to our new friendship which will long outlast the trip.

These memories will last a life time. I cannot wait to share it with you.

Tuesday Nov. 5th – Forests and a Maori evening festival

After a late night at Hobbiton, we’ll start out for our first adventure of the day- into the forests of New Zealand!

Fangorn, Mirkwood or Lothlorien, the forests in the books and films were some of the most important natural features in Middle Earth.

The gorgeous trees breathe life into us as we explore the woods.

 

             Our evening adventure will be an extraordinary view into traditional Maori life.

Through tales and songs we’ll gain insight into the lives of our Maori hosts. Concluding the evening with another fantastic meal!

Wednesday Nov. 6th – Oh the GLOW!

Relax and kick back as we drive through the countryside. Today we travel to the other side of the island!

Our adventures now go deep. VERY deep!    

We are going into a family owned Glowworm cave! These caves are carefully maintained to conserve their natural state.

We will be some of the lucky few who even know about these caves!

Glow worms are a New Zealand phenom. They thrive in dark, wet places, lighting up like mini stars. Being in their environment is a magical experience. Plus we explore beautiful underground caves.

I had to comb through several Glowworm cave operators before finding this gem. Most people never even find out about them! Another special Quest experience.

This evening is free time, We will provide suggestions if you’d like them! Or you can simply relax and take in the gorgeous views.

 

 

Thursday Nov.7th – Hobbits and Wizard and Orcs Oh My

This is one of my favorite adventures.

Today we visit a major Hobbit location!  

Another privately owned property, this land was a major location for scenes in The Hobbit films.

Not only is it extraordinary, and very beautiful, but it’s a spiritual hotspot in the country. You’ll see what I mean when we spend some time there.

We will picnic here and after our epic day, you’ll have time to relax and watch the scenery as we now travel UP! Up to the top of the island to Tongariro National Park. Some epic scenes were shot here and we’ll walk in the footsteps of the Fellowship.

Tonight, and the next, we lodge at the Chateau Tongariro! The stars of the films stayed here while shooting LotR. It’s a wonderful grand old hotel built in 1929. There’s a lovely, large sitting area where a piano player serenades in the evening and guests can lounge with drinks in front of a warm fire. It’s a perfect place for us to soak up a relaxing atmosphere after a day of exploring the wilds beyond the Chateau walls.

They have a movie theatre downstairs where we can watch a film or perhaps stargaze if the night is clear. The evening is yours to decide!

 

 

Friday Nov. 8th – Walk in the footsteps of the Fellowship

Chateau Tongariro is a New Zealand hotel and resort complex located close to Whakapapa ski-field on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu. It is also close to the volcanic peaks of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, within the borders of the Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s oldest national park.

Every nook and cranny of Chateau Tongariro has a story to tell.

The awe-inspiring mountains and rich forest of Tongariro National Park were given by Paramount Chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa, Horonuku Te Heu Heu Tukino to the people of New Zealand in 1887, laying the foundation on which our hotel is built. The gift ensured the land would be protected and open for all time to all people, a commitment we still hold dear.

After a new road gave access to the mountains in 1925, the Chateau Tongariro Hotel opened in 1929 to welcome guests from across the globe in the opulent glory days of the Roaring ’20s, and the hotel works hard to preserve the atmosphere of that glorious era to this day.

The hotel has haunted rooms, but don’t worry! We are not staying in any of those!

We will explore some of the areas we can walk to including Gollum’s pool.

There are some stupendous views and Lord of the Rings locations that we can visit on our walks. At the end of the day, we’ll relax in the lobby or on the deck of a nearby bar. ( Photo actually taken by me last October)

The evening is free to enjoy. We can decide to hangout together or you can take personal time.

 

Saturday Nov. 9th – Wellywood

Today we travel down the mountains, across the countryside and into Wellington! I LOVE this little city. The heartbeat of the Peter Jackson film empire and home to Weta, windy Welly will provide some signature shooting locations

                      

Our hotel is central, near the harbor and walking distance to the Te Papa museum, ( there is an incredible exhibit on Gallipoli by Weta) and dozens of wonderful shops and eateries. At the nearby Wellington Museum there is an awesome “What We Do In The Shadows” exhibit. If you haven’t seen the film, I highly recommend you do!

There are a stunning number of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit locations here that we will visit.

After our drive, you’ll have time to rest, freshen up and explore this fantastic town! 

(p.s. Make sure you remind me to tell you where the very cool little sci fi bar is!)

 

 

Sunday Nov.10th – A Private experience at Weta Workshop with Special Guests

Today we have another very special Quest experience!

A private, customized tour of the Weta Workshop! 

“Weta Workshop is a multi-award winning design studio and physical manufacturing facility servicing the world’s entertainment and creative industries.

The team at Weta Workshop engages in projects from the earliest stages of technical analysis and creative design through to manufacture across all departments and final delivery on set to anywhere in the world.  Drawing on more than 27 years of filmmaking experience, five-times Oscar-winning Design and Effects Supervisor Sir Richard Taylor is intimately involved in all projects from concept through to delivery.

Although best known for the company’s design and effects work on award-winning film projects, including The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar, District 9, The Adventures of Tintin, Elysium and The Hobbit Trilogy, Weta Workshop now has a creative portfolio that spans a large number of other blockbuster movies including The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Godzilla and Mortal Engines plus gaming properties including DOTA 2.”

We will have our very own exclusive experience, including some shopping at the Weta cave!

THEN dinner at CoCo’s at the Roxi, the theatre Peter Jackson renovated.

Monday Nov.11th – Visit the home of the Elves

Continuing our Wellington adventures, we will take in the shooting sites around the area.

Gardens of Isengard, the River Anduin, and Rivendell,

The most accessible filming location in Wellington is Mount Victoria, which is within walking distance of the central city. The forested areas of the mountain were used to depict Hobbiton Woods, where the hobbits hid from the black riders. Other Wellington locations include the Hutt River between Moonshine and Tōtara Park, which played the part of the River Anduin; and Harcourt Park, which was transformed into the Gardens of Isengard.

Wellington’s Kaitoke Regional Park became Rivendell, where Frodo recovered from the knife attack.

We will cover a LOT of ground today, experiencing several key location spots in and around Wellington. The evening is free for you to catch up on anything you need to do, or buy!

 

 

 

Tuesday Nov. 12th – FLY… To The South Island

On to the South Island and more of the epic adventures that only New Zealand seems to inspire so beautifully.

We fly from Wellington to Christchurch! 

We will spend the afternoon in Christchurch and settle into our digs. You’ll have time to sight-see, get food and drinks and maybe relax!

All during our journey together, I will be leading a creative project that the fellowship will be developing together. Today, we will be delving deeper into it! Yes, it’s a bit of a secret!

 

Wednesday Nov. 13th – Ride with the Rohirrim

Heading into the wilds of the South Island we will find ourselves in Edoras, the capital city of the Rohan people in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

We have an exclusive pass to get onto this private land and stand on the spot Edoras was built.

The views from here are stunning, exactly what you’d expect of a New Zealand landscape, but there’s even more. More wild, more clean and fresh.

You can really see and feel the magic of this land. We are going to spend some time here, eventually having lunch in the wild of this gorgeous place.

Tonight we rest from the day’s adventure. And maybe play with our secret creative project!

 

 

 

Thursday Nov. 14th – Fields of Battle and lakes of lights

We will push even farther into the wilderness! We are really covering the countryside. On the way, the vistas of the South Island will continue to be awe inspiring. Coming to rest at Lake Tekapo. Along the way, we will experience Gondor! We’ll see the exact the Battle of Pelennor Fields location and perhaps stab a ring wraith in the face like Eowyn.      Tonight we rest at the top of the world. If the weather permits, we’ll do some serious star gazing! Lake Tekapo has some of the darkest skies ( no light pollution) at this elevation in the world. If we are REALLY blessed, we might witness the Southern Lights!

 

Friday Nov. 15th – An EPIC drive with The Lonely Mountain

We continue our exploration of these gorgeous, jaw dropping sights. Mount Cook, which was used to represent The Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit films, will be on view as we continue our journey.

We’ll stop in Arrowtown, which has an incredible history of it’s own. Our focus will be the Ford of Bruinen on the Arrow River, where Arwen called a flood in the form of horses, killing the physical forms and the horses of the Ringwraiths. We can also walk to Wilcox Green, where the Gladden Fields scenes were filmed. 

We will be landing at our last hotel for this leg of the Quest! You’ll have this evening free to check out Queenstown!

Saturday Nov. 16th – Over rivers and through woods

We start off by exploring the numerous locations in this area, getting a feel for the magic of Isengard, Rohan, Lothlorien, Dimrill Dale, the River Anduin… It’s all here on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown’s surroundings! 

But wait there’s more!

We are doing some river adventures! By motor and people power. 

Our second half of the day will include a boat ride to Walter’s Peak  Station and an incredible meal on a working sheep ranch. This was     such a fantastic excursion I had to do it twice! The food is fabulous

and it’s plentiful! We take a gorgeous boat ride across Lake Wakatipu and have a spectacular view of the Remarkables and Queenstown. Then enjoy the animals of Walter’s Peak Station. If we are lucky, there will be a sheep shearing and sheep dog demonstration. There’s a cute gift shop, but my favorite are all the animals.

 

Sunday Nov. 17th- Glenorchy AND The Remarkables

For our last day in this magical land, we’ll get on horseback and explore like the Fellowship. All levels of riders are welcome!

This gentle trek gives riders the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular sites of breath-taking Glenorchy as they build up their confidence on our friendly horses.

The route of the ride varies day to day, this is because there are simply too many wonderful places to go and sights to see, and we like to give our horses, guides and returning manuhiri (visitors) a chance to see as much of the stunning scenery as possible. You will be sure to see some of the spectacular Middle earth locations where scenes from Lord of the Rings were shot, and you can rest assured that the views are fantastic in every direction – we are on the doorstep to Paradise, after all.

AND our evening festivities take us to the top of Queenstown and an unforgettable view of The Remarkables, the stunning mountain range of the area. Enjoy the view, shop and maybe even try the luge!

Our Farewell dinner will be tonight including delicious fare and a tribute to our experiences.

Monday Nov. 18th – Farewell but not forever. The Fellowship remains unbroken.

Farewell but not goodbye! We will get you on transport to the airport.  

We will have our follow up group call in a few weeks.

Kia Ora and Kei te aroha au ki a koe. K’ia tupono ano.

( Thank you, Love you and May we meet again!)

“Farewell, my brave Hobbits. My work is now finished. Here at last, on the shores of the sea… comes the end of our Fellowship. I will not say do not weep, for not all tears are an evil.