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Lord of the Rings 4WD Tours

Glenorchy Lord of the Rings 4WD Tour

Journey in 4WD from Queenstown to Glenorchy and Paradise on a spectacular Lord of the Rings adventure. Discover iconic filming locations including Isengard, Lothlórien, Fangorn Forest, Ithilien Camp and the Battle of Amon Hen, surrounded by breathtaking alpine scenery.

Key Information

Duration

4.25 hours

Times

8:00am & 1:30pm

Operates

Year-round, conditions permitting

Walking

Easy 15 minute walk

Highlights

  • Visit locations Isengard, Lothlórien, Fangorn Forest, Ithilien Camp and Battle of Amon Hen
  • Spectacular journey along Lake Whakatipu to Glenorchy and Paradise
  • Native beech forest and dramatic alpine scenery
  • 15 minute return nature walk to a filming location
  • Step into character with costumes and props
  • Locations from The Hobbit, Narnia and X-Men
  • Behind-the-scenes filming stories from your local guide
  • Morning or afternoon tea included

What You’ll Experience

Travel in 4WD from Queenstown along the shores of Lake Whakatipu on one of New Zealand’s most spectacular scenic drives, surrounded by the Southern Alps, glacial valleys, braided rivers and native beech forest. Visit 12 Mile Delta then enjoy a 15 minute scenic walk. Journey through Glenorchy and Paradise to discover filming locations associated with Isengard, Fangorn Forest, Ithilien Camp and the Battle of Amon Hen. Travel towards Paradise with views of Mt Earnslaw, and venture into the Forest of Lothlórien. Dress up in replica cloaks, pose with movie props and let your local guide connect the landscapes to the movies with film imagery, behind-the-scenes stories and filming insights. The area has also appeared in The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, making this a fantastic experience for movie fans and scenery lovers alike.

Tour Options

Standard

Maximum 6 guests per 4WD vehicle.

Shared 4WD

Upgrade

Guaranteed window seat with maximum of 4 guests.

Guaranteed Window Seat

Private

Exclusive use of vehicle and guide for your group of up to 6 guests.

Exclusive 4WD + Guide

Private Tours

Looking for a More Personalised Experience?

Book this experience as a Private Tour and enjoy exclusive use of the 4WD vehicle and guide, private accommodation pick-up and a more personalised experience for up to 6 guests.

Book a Private Tour

Good to Know

What’s Included

Travel in a 6-seater 4WD Land Cruiser or Land Rover, experienced local guide, Lord of the Rings and other movie filming locations, replica costumes and props, short nature walk, morning or afternoon tea.

What to Bring

Water, camera or phone, sun protection, comfortable shoes and suitable clothing

Meeting Point

The main departure point is Nomad Safaris, 37 Shotover Street, Queenstown, with complimentary pick-up and drop-off also available from selected central Queenstown accommodation.

 

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This tour visits filming locations rather than movie sets. The original sets were removed after filming, but many of the landscapes featured in the trilogy remain instantly recognisable. The tour includes an easy 15 minute return nature walk on a formed trail; guests who prefer not to walk can remain in or near the vehicle. Itineraries may change due to weather, river levels, road or track conditions which may affect river crossings or access to some locations.

Please review our Disclosure of Risks and Weather Cancellation Policy and Terms & Conditions before booking.

Itinerary

  • Depart Queenstown and travel alongside Lake Wakatipu, stopping at scenic viewpoints on the journey to Glenorchy.
  • Follow the Dart River to the spectacular Isengard filming location, with views towards Mt Earnslaw.
  • Continue into Paradise to explore the forest used for Lothlórien and other Middle-earth scenes.
  • Dress in replica cloaks and pose with movie props while your guide shares filming stories and images.
  • Return towards Queenstown, stopping at 12 Mile Delta to explore the Ithilien Camp filming location.
  • See landscapes also featured in The Hobbit, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.


Can we book a Private Charter? If you’d like a more private trip, you can book a whole vehicle for your group, our maximum group size is 6.

What is 4 Pax max? Choose this option to guarantee everyone a window seat. A maximum of four passengers per vehicle, each guest enjoys their own window seat. This differs from our standard tours, which accommodate up to six passengers per vehicle, and do not guarantee a window seat throughout the experience. Please note, our guides always encourage seat rotation so everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a different window view during the tour.

Will I see sets from Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit? No. As part of gaining permission to film in the spectacular locations, the producers were required to dismantle all sets except for Hobbiton.  We specialise in showing you where specific scenes were filmed.  Many of the movie locations are recognisable on our trips and your guide will give you insights into the stories behind them.

How long is the trip? 4.25 hours.

Where will you pick up and drop off? We will pick you up and drop you at any central accommodation or our Info & Track / Info & Snow Office at 37 Shotover Street, Queenstown. Unfortunately we are unable to offer pickups from the Hilton Hotel or Frankton for this tour due to traffic delays.

Can I do 2 trips in one day? Yes – we will drop you off after the morning trip to have lunch and collect you at 1.30pm for the afternoon tour.

Is any walking involved? Our Glenorchy trips include an easy 15 minute (return) nature walk to a LOTR scene over a formed trail.  Clients have the option of staying in or near the vehicle if they wish at any of the stops on any of our tours.

What type of vehicles do you use? 6 seater 4WD Land Rover or Land Cruiser.

Which trip contains the most LOTR scenes? If your main focus is to see as much LOTR scenes as possible we recommend our Glenorchy Lord of The Rings tour. This trip heading to Glenorchy on a very scenic drive and end up in Paradise Valley, where LOTR and other movies were filmed. Queenstown Lord of The Rings (Safari of the Scenes) offers a good mixture out of LOTR, scenery and gold panning history.

What are your Child rates/ Child ages? We do have child rates available. Infants (0-3 years) travel for free and children (4-14 years) travel at a discounted price.

“Fabulous Lord of the Rings tour”
Great tour to the site of many Lord of the Rings sites. Even without the movie part the scenery is absolutely spectacular!! Our tour guide Michelle was so friendly and helpful - a true Lord of the Rings diehard fan. She answered so many questions even when they were only partly related to the movie! So many interesting facts! Even if you're not a fan, go and see the scenery and hear some of the geological facts of the area. Love this tour, thank you!
~ Alvin TM, Sydney, Australia  
“A LOTR outing in Paradise”
We had Badger as our guide when we signed up for the LOTR Paradise half day tour option. Friendly and knowledgeable, he did an excellent job of filling us in on LOTR trivia as we made our way there. We had fun striking various poses with our swords and tea time in the forest at Paradise. Inspired, we were thrilled to purchase our copy of the trilogy immediately upon returning from the tour. Thank you for making our day!
~ Janice N  
“Fantastic LOTR Tour!”
Had a fantastic Glenorchy Lord of the Rings tour, our tour guide Michelle was great - very nice and knew heaps about the movies and the country, told fun background stories and showed us the exact places where the movies were shot providing original photos. Dressing up and taking pictures with the swords was fun and the scenery is just breathtaking! Would recommend it to anyone who's into LOTR :)
~ Helena P