Half Day Lord of the Rings Tour

This Wellington tour follows key filming locations and movie landmarks linked to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, with time at Mt Victoria Lookout, Hobbiton Woods and Weta Workshop in Miramar.

The journey begins with a drive up Courtenay Place to Mt Victoria Lookout, passing the Embassy Picture Theatre, where the world premieres of The Return of the King in 2003 and An Unexpected Journey in 2012 were held. From the lookout, you get wide views over Wellington city before heading to Hobbiton Woods, where filming for the trilogy began.

At Hobbiton Woods, the tour visits five filming sites from the first Lord of the Rings film. These include the Shortcut to Mushrooms scene, Sam and Frodo’s Second Breakfast, the spot where the Hobbits hid from the Black Rider in “Get off the Road!”, the Race to the Buckleberry Ferry scene, and King Théoden’s Dunharrow Encampment.

The tour then continues to Weta Workshop in Miramar for a behind the scenes visit focused on how props, weaponry and sets, including work from Thunderbirds, are made. At the Weta Cave, you can see and take photos with Gollum, Lurtz the Uruk-hai and Bilbo’s three Trolls. The day ends with a drive around the bays back to the city.