Christchurch & Lyttelton Harbor

Location for filming The Lord of the Rings

Viking Daily

We were in Lyttelton harbor on the outskirts of Christchurch for one day. We took the 100 mile (each way) trip to the site where the home of the Riders of Rohan called Edoras in Lord of the Rings was filmed. The film crew made that journey every day. The country is unspoiled there and staggeringly beautiful. Part of the film contract was restoration of the countryside to the exact condition in which they found it. Measurements were taken and each plant was put back in the same spot from which it had been removed!

Lyttelton Harbor about 3 miles from Christchurch. The harbor is one of the deepest in New Zealand.

Surprise! The research vessel Laura Bassi. This is one of the research vessels studying Antarctica.

We stopped in a tiny town on the way to eat and the folks who served were part of the historical society. Really sweet people.

Sculpture on the grounds of our lunch stop-beautiful!

First view of the valley containing Mt Sunday (where Edoras was built).

View of Mt Sunday which was used to construct the village of Edoras.

Last Look at the valley.

Website on filming.

The little town of Rakaia had a statue of a Chinook Salmon. The salmon was introduced to the Rakaia River in the late 1880’s from the McCloud River in Northern California. That salmon run was destroyed in 1945 by the construction of the Shasta Dam. The salmon continue to thrive in New Zealand.