“Before them stood the mountains of the South: white-tipped and streaked with black. The grass-lands rolled against the hills that clustered at their feet, and flowed up into many valleys still dim and dark, untouched by the light of dawn, winding their way into the heart of the great mountains. Immediately before the travellers the widest of these glens opened like a long gulf among the hills. Far inward they glimpsed a tumbled mountain-mass with one tall peak; at the mouth of the vale there stood like a sentinel a lonely height. About its feet there flowed, as a thread of silver, the stream that issued from the dale; upon its brow they caught, still far away, a glint of the rising sun, a glimmer of gold.”

This is Tolkien’s first description of Edoras–the capital city of Rohan–in The Lord of the Rings. When crews were sent out to scout film locations for the trilogy, this is what they were looking for–grasslands, great mountains, a lonely peak, a silver stream. They spent several months searching until finally they found it, deep in the heart of the South Island, the perfect location; it was as if Tolkien was actually describing the landscape of New Zealand, rather than that of Middle Earth.

Here is the view they came across. Welcome to Rohan:

The city of Edoras itself was located on the small rocky hill at the base of the mountains, on the middle-right portion of the photo. This hill, while not really a mountain, is named Mt. Sunday and right in the center of one of the largest and most remote sheep and cattle farms in New Zealand. The location is quite difficult to access as it requires a long drive on a gravel road deep into the highlands of the South Island. It takes about two-and-half hours from Christchurch and one-and-a-half hours from Methven. Luckily for us LOTR nerds, a tour to Mt. Sunday is provided by Hassle Free Tours that picks up at either Christchurch or Methven.

The all-inclusive tour includes transportation to Mt. Sunday, lunch, behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the filming of Edoras, and a quiver of props from the movie for some epic photo opportunities.

I was the last to be picked up, in Methven, and joined about ten others on the bus who all left from Christchurch. Our little Fellowship was led by our driver and tour guide, Chris, who provided informative and entertaining commentary on the filming of the movies and New Zealand’s natural history. Along the way, we made several quick stops at viewpoints that provided remarkable scenery of the vast and open highlands landscape.

I was expecting Mt. Sunday to be packed with tourists attempting to recreate movie scenes for their Instagram shots, but to my surprise, aside from our group, we only came across four other people the entire time we were there. Again, it is difficult to get to and not quite as well-known as other film locations like Hobbiton on the North Island. Thus, I was able to recreate film scenes for my own Instagram shots in peace.

From the car park, it is a short but fairly steep walk up to the top. Of course, the constructions from the movie set are no longer there. A part of me feels that it is a shame that the incredibly detailed and intricate buildings of Edoras were taken down just days after they were built, including the great Golden Hall, where the king sat, but the other part applauds the film crew for leaving this wild and pristine landscape untouched. Despite housing the crew and actors, and hundreds of extras, as well as serving as a construction site for a fake city, there is no evidence that anyone was ever there. Even the jeep track that was used to carry the actors and equipment to the top was covered up.

We had no jeep available, so we had to hike up. Breathing heavily and starting to break a sweat, I arrived at the top and took my first look over the expanse of Rohan. A strong gust hit me head on, tunneling through the deep, mountainous valley ahead. No sign of the mighty Rohirrim galloping over the plains could be spotted, but the vista before me felt as epic and magical as Middle-Earth nonetheless. We carried up props that included King Theoden, Frodo, and Aragorn’s swords, and the banner of Rohan for the perfect photo opportunities.

After around a half hour at the top, we hiked back down and headed to Mt. Potts lodge, just 5 minutes up the road from Mt. Sunday, to enjoy a lunch of sandwiches and New Zealand sparkling wine while taking in the mountainous views one last time. From there, we made the drive back, leaving Edoras and Middle Earth behind us.

Hassle Free Tours has a monopoly on the Mt. Sunday tour, so the price is a bit steep, but take a look on Bookme to find deals (I scored my tour for half price!). Of course, if you have a car, you can drive to Mt. Sunday yourself and enjoy it for free! There’s a good chance you will have it all to yourself as well. However, your photos won’t include any swords or flags and, thus, lose about half the potential epic-ness.

For die-hard LOTR fans, or for those those looking for a scenic day trip in a remote and wild location, Mt. Sunday is well worth the trip.

Forth Eorlingas!