Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
How cool that you visited the actual site...
We only got done half of what we wanted in Wellington...we wanted to do
this as well.
But the guided road trip took a LOT of time, and was well worth it...
Kids on the River Anduril (actually HUTT river)
Location of Isengard - can't see it clearly in the photo but there's a section of grass of slightly different nature for the path that Gandalf rode...can see it clearly in person.
Gandalf and Saruman's walk...
This area should have been littered with Orc bodies, but they were strangely absent.
This is where they created Rivendell
The two trees that show prominently were used as pillars in Frodo's room.
They needed to essentially clear the area, so they took a photographic inventory of every plant that they had to disturb to clear the area, and put them all in a giant greenhouse while they filmed, then planted them back exactly where they found them (apparently they did the same in the area where the Rohan were filmed)...NZ Government gave them huge support, would never happen in Oz.
They built Rivendell, and never showed the actors who played Aragorn or Boromir...they blindfolded them, and then rolled as they say it for the first time...
The hill that the hobbits ran up escaping the wraiths...Sam was CGI, as they nearly killed him, having had him put on 60lb to fulfill the role.