Glenorchy Lord of the Rings

For true Lord of the Rings fans, this is the trip where Nomad Safaris really does take you there and back again. This scenic sightseeing tour includes recognisable filming locations and stunning natural scenery. The Glenorchy Safari of the Scenes takes you from Queenstown to Glenorchy stopping at breath-taking viewpoints.

The route from Glenorchy follows the Dart River to the spectacular filming location for Isengard. This location offers stunning views of Mt Earnslaw. Heading to Paradise discover the location for the Forest of Lothlorien. Leaving Glenorchy and heading towards Queenstown you will stop at 12 Mile Delta to explore the location of the Ithilien Camp.

The Safari of the Scenes – Glenorchy also includes locations from Xmen Origins: Wolverine, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and the Hobbit

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.

Important Information: Tour Itinerary Adjustments

Your safety is our top priority. In certain situations, it may be necessary to alter the tour itinerary due to conditions beyond our control, such as high water levels or adverse road conditions. This could mean we are unable to cross rivers or drive certain roads. When booking, please understand that these adjustments may be required. Please also see our full weather cancellation policy.

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Disclosure of Risk 4WD

Nomad Adventures Limited (t/a Nomad Safaris) Disclosure of Risk for Four Wheel Drive Tours. Wakatipu, Glenorchy, Skippers Canyon, Macetown, Gold Seeker, Essential Queenstown and Private Charter

We, Nomad Adventures Limited, are committed to the protection of our employees, clients & property from accidental injury or damage from work carried out by, and on behalf of, the business. We, Nomad Adventures Limited, adopt health, safety, and welfare as a fundamental business objective.

In meeting this commitment, management will comply with all legislative requirements and take all practicable steps to:

• Provide a safe place of work, safe equipment, and proper materials.
• Activities are reviewed by competent staff (internal technical advisors).
• Establish and insist that safe work methods be always practiced.
• Provide supervision and training.
• Ensure employees and clients understand and accept their responsibility to promote a safe and healthy place of work and are part of the safety management process.
• Comply with all Health and Safety Legislation.
• Prevention of serious harm.
• Continually improve.

Whilst we undertake all reasonably practicable steps to minimize, remove, or isolate risks during our tours, it still exists as it does in everyday life.

Risks you may be exposed to during your tour include, but are not limited to:

• Motor vehicle accident including collision with other vehicles, stationary objects, or the land, rollovers, or vehicle fires.
• Your own failure to heed safety warnings, both verbal and written.
• Actions of other road users or members of the public which could cause harm.
• Risk of falling from alighting the motor vehicle.
• Risk of falling or injury due to uneven, loose, or slippery terrain.
• Risk of drowning.
• Risk of injury or death due to natural events such as Earthquakes, Landslide, Flash Flooding, Treefall, Wildfire, Lightning, Blizzards, Volcanic Eruption, Tsunami, Cyclones, and any ongoing consequences of these events.

Disclosure of Risk 4WD v1.2 – Nov 2025

Weather Cancellation Policy

Weather cancellation policy Nomad Adventures Limited (t/a Nomad Safaris, Info & Track, Info & Snow)

As part of this commitment, we reserve the right to delay or cancel any tours or activities if weather conditions are not suitable. This decision will be made by the Operations Manager or a delegated representative. Guides and Drivers are also authorized to modify their routes, or shorten a tour if weather conditions unexpectedly change.

Reasons for this could include, but are not limited to:

• Excessive rain causing risk of flooding
• Extreme high winds
• Snowfall closing roads
• Excessive ice on roading network
• Risk of lightning strike during tours
• Weather-related State of Emergency declared by authorities
• Any other extreme environmental or weather event, such as Earthquake, Landslide, Wildfire, Tsunami, Cyclone, Volcanic Eruption

Weather Cancellation Policy v1.2 – Nov 2025

“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