Off to Paradise from 'The Lord of the Rings'

Today I am heading back to Queenstown, will stay along the Wakatipu shore, and drive to the northeastern area toward Glenorchy. There, I want to see filming locations from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The lake, shaped like a broken boomerang, is reached quickly, and now I am following the eastern lake shore to Queenstown, then through the center continuing west. Just before Glenorchy, I pass a heliport; the flight connection from here to Milford Sound takes 15 minutes, while walking the 35 km track takes 2 days. I have now detoured 350 km... Behind the town, the 15 km gravel road to Paradise begins, where parts of the Lord of the Rings films were shot (keyword Lothlorien, Isengard, The Two Towers).

I drive another 5 km, crossing various streams (one was too deep, so I had to play in the cold water for 10 minutes and move some stones; afterwards, the water level was fine) and end up at the small DOC parking lot at Chinaman's Bluff. On foot, it’s an hour up the river valley, and at some point, I lie down on a log and doze in the sun. What happens next is somehow typical of NZ: a motor noise approaches from upriver, and then I see a jet boat. In total, there are 3 boats that zoom past me with loud noise and the passengers' screams. It seems to be fun, right in the middle of nowhere. Then a small private boat shoots up, stops near me, and the boat driver invites me to join. Typical NZ... but with a laptop and a camera in my backpack, jet boating is not ideal.

I wander back to the car; actually, this would be a nice spot for the night (there's a toilet), but it's still too early, so I drive back toward the sealed road and look around the area.

Later, the campsite in Glenorchy is unfortunately full, but I still find a simple spot just before Queenstown.