Coppermine Trail in Nelson

All three of us had fun trying to find a trail, then walking the loop, before making our way back to the hotel.

Jens Hansen and the One Ring

No Lord of the Rings movie tour would be complete without visiting the maker of the One Ring.

We took a ferry from the North Island to the South Island, and the weather changed in time for river kayaking.

We used our free afternoon to ride the Wellington Cable Car up the hill to the Botanic Garden and the Bolton Street Cemetery.

Meeting the calligrapher, cartographer, and artist Daniel Reeve was a highlight of our tour.

Wētā Workshop was another of the promised tour visits that I had been looking forward to since I booked this trip!

Mt. Victoria is a beautiful park close to film studios in Wellington and thus a covenient setting for several scenes from Lord of the Rings.

Bonnie asked not “How bad could it get?” but rather “How good could it get?”

What a great way to celebrate my 55th birthday.

Two locations impressed us on their sheer beauty alone. Huka Falls and Lake Taupo are worthy destinations.