Travel Tuesday – Isengard
“A strong place and wonderful was Isengard, and long it had been beautiful; and there great lords had dwelt, the wardens of Gondor upon the West, and wise men that watched the stars.”
Given my current obsession with Richard Armitage that started after watching North & South (you can read my gushing review), I started re-watching the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings movies. That has left me with only one destination on my mind – New Zealand. I want to go back to that beautiful, friendly country where you feel like you are in a new place every 30 minutes. Unfortunately, a trip to New Zealand is not in the cards right now (school vacation days and change from summer to winter during the longer holidays), so I’ve been trying to remember my trip there and some of my favorite places.
My absolute hands down favorite place in New Zealand is a tiny little village called “Paradise” and Glenorchy. Paradise with The Remarkables behind it was the scene for the computer generated Isengard. You cannot escape the Remarkables/Misty Mountains whereever you go in the Queenstown area.
The road to Isengard is gorgeous
The road to Isengard from Queenstown takes you along the shores of Lake Wakatipu toward Glenorchy and then Paradise Valley via the 12 Mile Delta and then on to Mt Aspiring National Park.
The elves live in Lothlorien Forest
It was 15 years ago, but I still remember the drive through Mt Aspiring National Park and the way the trees merged in the not too distance and the light that flitted through the trees as we walked by. I remember us being all alone in the park and making it even more Elven like.
I went to Glenorchy and Paradise to see Isengard. I came away with memories of one of the most remarkable places I have seen.
