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Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook
Since the first screening of The Lord of the The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001, New Zealand has become the embodiment of 'Middle-earth' to millions of moviegoers and JRR Tolkien fans the world over. Ten years later the phenomenon continues and this newly redesigned and updated guidebook provides all the information needed for the traveller to Middle-earth Aotearoa. This updated edition of the definitive guidebook showcases the principal movie-set locations around New Zealand as seen in all three films. It also maps and location directions; useful touring information including accommodation, food and entertainment suggestions; GPS references to location sites; foreword by Sir Peter Jackson; photographs and an article by Alan Lee; contributions from cast and crew; movie images. As the road goes ever on, join Ian Brodie on a fascinating tour of Middle-earth Aotearoa.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Ian Brodie
32 books2 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Both author Ian Brodie and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson are keen vintage aircraft enthusiasts and Jackson gave Brodie unlimited access to photographing all aspects of the filming of all three films.
Both author Ian Brodie and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson are keen vintage aircraft enthusiasts and Jackson gave Brodie unlimited access to photographing all aspects of the filming of all three films.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 6, 2019
This book is SO much fun, a must beg/borrow/steal/buy for anyone who loves LOTR and is going to New Zealand. Has photos from movie shoot on every page and very detailed descriptions of where each part in the Trilogy was filmed in New Zealand, suggestions for Helicopter tours and drives, includes mention of some places where the actors ate or stayed.
I bought this in the South Island in a gift shop after touring a cave.
What could have been better? The maps, unless you already know NZ intimately, aren't much help; one needs to buy a good road map and mark it yourself to indicate where the locations are, if you are using this to find the locations.
There is a basic map of NZ on the inside of the front and back covers and other maps which I personally could not figure out and would have been super challenging to follow.
Wish the book had maps with stars marking the locations. The Tolkien names were sort of mixed up with the actual names which I found confusing; not that it wasn't obvious which was which. It would have been better if he gave actual addresses like "set your GPS to ADDRESS X to get close to Location X, then look for signs stating such-and-such".
There was some repetition in the actors quotes; we get that NZ was the perfect location for the movies and didn't need multiple quotes stating the fact over and over. I would have had different quotes to mix it up a bit like "Damn, the rain was annoying when we had to film the scene where blah blah blah" or "I stepped in sheep dung SO many times and got my hobbit feet f*cked up"
This was obviously a labour of love by Brodie. Highly recommend. My edition was light and small so easy to carry in a bag and I kept it in the car.
I bought this in the South Island in a gift shop after touring a cave.
What could have been better? The maps, unless you already know NZ intimately, aren't much help; one needs to buy a good road map and mark it yourself to indicate where the locations are, if you are using this to find the locations.
There is a basic map of NZ on the inside of the front and back covers and other maps which I personally could not figure out and would have been super challenging to follow.
Wish the book had maps with stars marking the locations. The Tolkien names were sort of mixed up with the actual names which I found confusing; not that it wasn't obvious which was which. It would have been better if he gave actual addresses like "set your GPS to ADDRESS X to get close to Location X, then look for signs stating such-and-such".
There was some repetition in the actors quotes; we get that NZ was the perfect location for the movies and didn't need multiple quotes stating the fact over and over. I would have had different quotes to mix it up a bit like "Damn, the rain was annoying when we had to film the scene where blah blah blah" or "I stepped in sheep dung SO many times and got my hobbit feet f*cked up"
This was obviously a labour of love by Brodie. Highly recommend. My edition was light and small so easy to carry in a bag and I kept it in the car.
January 3, 2021
First book of 2021 yayyyyy
Anyhow, this was a very cool and fun book with a lot of great information about the filming locations in New Zealand for the Lord of the Rings movies, with very nice comparison illustrations and anecdotes from some of the cast members. I’d say it’d be very helpful for anyone who wants to take a LotR location vacation in the (very far in my case) future.
(Full disclosure: I received and devoured this book today. Call me intense or call me insane, but hey that’s just how I am)
Anyhow, this was a very cool and fun book with a lot of great information about the filming locations in New Zealand for the Lord of the Rings movies, with very nice comparison illustrations and anecdotes from some of the cast members. I’d say it’d be very helpful for anyone who wants to take a LotR location vacation in the (very far in my case) future.
(Full disclosure: I received and devoured this book today. Call me intense or call me insane, but hey that’s just how I am)
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January 31, 2023Phenomenal guide for anyone looking to make the pilgrimage to the LOTR fan’s promised land. Surprisingly poetic passages mixed in with concise and effective guidance for traveling New Zealand as well as a fascinating breakdown of the location scouting process. Brodie got PJ and the whole cast involved too to flesh out each section. Great stuff
April 7, 2008
Its really unfortunate that this is the only location guidebook to the trilogy Lord of the Rings.
My husband and I got this book with high hopes- we were in our camper van and ready to see the sites from the movie.
One of the first things we noticed was that there are almost no maps throughout the entire book. There are two maps, one on the front cover of the North Island, one on the back cover of the South Island. That was it.
We also noticed that the maps that ARE in the book are completely useless. With the exception of Wellington, none of the cities where the sites are are noted on the map. So I had to look in the book for the city and find it on another map to understand where it was in relation to where we were. There are no highways/freeways on the map so you always had to have another map with you to use the book.
The author included GPS coordinates but I don't own a GPS unit so that was useless to me.
The descriptions on how to get to the sites were hard to follow. The author would write, "to see the site, follow the river for 200 feet to where the hill slightly curves to the right. This is where Arwen faced the Nazgul." I felt that there was very little detail and we thought the sites were hard to find.
And this is what bothered me the most- the shameless advertising. For example to see the Kawarau River, where the Fellowship floats down the river past the two king statues, there is a shameless plug for Dart River Jetboats. It goes on and on about how the best way to see the sites is to take a Dart River jetboat. It was annoying.
Having said all of that, this was the only resource that we could find to see the sites from LOTR. If you are a fan of LOTR but don't want to pay 150 USD for a tour in Wellington (only), the book is worth the $25.
My husband and I got this book with high hopes- we were in our camper van and ready to see the sites from the movie.
One of the first things we noticed was that there are almost no maps throughout the entire book. There are two maps, one on the front cover of the North Island, one on the back cover of the South Island. That was it.
We also noticed that the maps that ARE in the book are completely useless. With the exception of Wellington, none of the cities where the sites are are noted on the map. So I had to look in the book for the city and find it on another map to understand where it was in relation to where we were. There are no highways/freeways on the map so you always had to have another map with you to use the book.
The author included GPS coordinates but I don't own a GPS unit so that was useless to me.
The descriptions on how to get to the sites were hard to follow. The author would write, "to see the site, follow the river for 200 feet to where the hill slightly curves to the right. This is where Arwen faced the Nazgul." I felt that there was very little detail and we thought the sites were hard to find.
And this is what bothered me the most- the shameless advertising. For example to see the Kawarau River, where the Fellowship floats down the river past the two king statues, there is a shameless plug for Dart River Jetboats. It goes on and on about how the best way to see the sites is to take a Dart River jetboat. It was annoying.
Having said all of that, this was the only resource that we could find to see the sites from LOTR. If you are a fan of LOTR but don't want to pay 150 USD for a tour in Wellington (only), the book is worth the $25.
January 9, 2018
I've just recently returned from New Zealand after using solely this guidebook to plan out a tailored Lord of the Rings roadtrip. If that's your intention also, this is the book to do it with! I'm completely confused by the other reviews complaining about the GPS co-ordinates - you plug them straight into google maps and hit go then follow the directions, I could not imagine an easier way to do it! Roads in New Zealand are frequently closed due to being destroyed or blocked by 'natural forces' - making printed maps utterly useless anyway.
As for the book itself, tons of great photos and just enough extra information to read through it without it feeling like a geography text book.
I really have little else to say on it, it does what you want it to do and does it well.
I also wrote a blog post detailing the experience if you need further convincing.
As for the book itself, tons of great photos and just enough extra information to read through it without it feeling like a geography text book.
I really have little else to say on it, it does what you want it to do and does it well.
I also wrote a blog post detailing the experience if you need further convincing.
November 16, 2024
Stars: 3
First, I'll give this book credit for originally being the authoritative and likely only guide to find many of these locations. I'm glad I got the book prior to my visit to New Zealand, but the need for this book is much less now that you can find people who have already tracked down many of these places and get much better directions online. There were only a handful of times that I found that the book was significantly more beneficial than what I found online. (I will say that I took a peak at the most updated version of this book with the gold writing on the cover and it looks like it was improved at least to a degree). There were also a number of occasions where the author would just say something like, "this location is only accessible by horse tour...", and you would only get very vague descriptions of the area. But on the next page, he'd be like, "to see this site, climb over this fence...", so he is clearly okay with accessing private property without getting approval.
I'd say this is a must read if you are a LOTR fan that is going to visit New Zealand. I don't think I'd read it if I wasn't visiting.
First, I'll give this book credit for originally being the authoritative and likely only guide to find many of these locations. I'm glad I got the book prior to my visit to New Zealand, but the need for this book is much less now that you can find people who have already tracked down many of these places and get much better directions online. There were only a handful of times that I found that the book was significantly more beneficial than what I found online. (I will say that I took a peak at the most updated version of this book with the gold writing on the cover and it looks like it was improved at least to a degree). There were also a number of occasions where the author would just say something like, "this location is only accessible by horse tour...", and you would only get very vague descriptions of the area. But on the next page, he'd be like, "to see this site, climb over this fence...", so he is clearly okay with accessing private property without getting approval.
I'd say this is a must read if you are a LOTR fan that is going to visit New Zealand. I don't think I'd read it if I wasn't visiting.
March 3, 2019
Great guide book. If only one had the money and time to see an the locations. :)
August 24, 2013
For a visual person like me, this book was terrible. To be really useful, it should have had maps with 'x marks the spot', instead of driving directions (turn left after 1 km, etc) that were sometimes rather vague. It's all very well putting co-ordinates for some places, but then you had to go and find a map, find the spot, look for the nearest road and then the nearest town and work out how long it might take to get there.
I had tried various times, over the years that I've owned this book, to read it but found it horribly written. Now I'm actually contemplating a trip to look for these places, I find how awful it really is. I only hope the later editions are better, but I doubt it (from what I've seen). Perhaps they purposely made it difficult to follow to put off potential hordes.
I had tried various times, over the years that I've owned this book, to read it but found it horribly written. Now I'm actually contemplating a trip to look for these places, I find how awful it really is. I only hope the later editions are better, but I doubt it (from what I've seen). Perhaps they purposely made it difficult to follow to put off potential hordes.
April 13, 2014
Poorly written and largely useless to find sites on the ground. Needs the heavy hand of a decent editor and a good cartographer. Can somebody please write a decent smart phone app? Please.
January 30, 2016
I should have picked this up during my trip during the South Island rather than the end. Still, it gave me good motivation to visit more film location sites. Better pick up the hobbit edition soon
November 8, 2020
Bought the book while travelling around NZ since I love LotR and I wanted to visit some of the locations. Unfortunately, this book is a seemingly random collection of the author's memories, some filming locations and some general (and mostly useless) advices for tourists rather than a location guidebook.
It starts with a lot of introduction about how great NZ is as there are so many different landscapes, something that's probably part of the reason why you went there in the first place. That's something I grew tired of quickly, but it wouldn't have put me off if it wasn't for the actual guidebook part:
There are but a few maps in the whole book. The ones that are there seem to have been handdrawn and don't even match reality most of the time. The author would have been better off just including screenshots of OpenStreetMap ... Instead there are long descriptions where to turn off a street or, in a seemingly random manner, GPS coordinates of some of the locations.
There are a lot of photos, which would have been awesome if they had been taken at the same angles as the sparsely movie shots included in the book. Most of the time they're just average landscape pictures that don't help you at all.
Sometimes you read through a page describing the amazing setting and in the last paragraph the author states "unfortunately, this is now private land / inaccessible / transformed by some business".
In between the descriptions of the locations are pages filled with generic information about certain regions with restaurant recommendations. I'm having a hard time imagining a case where anyone would need that, since nobody is relying on a movie location guidebook as a substitute for a general tourist guidebook.
Seriously, if you want to visit the filming locations just google and you'll find dozens of blogs that do a better job than this book.
It starts with a lot of introduction about how great NZ is as there are so many different landscapes, something that's probably part of the reason why you went there in the first place. That's something I grew tired of quickly, but it wouldn't have put me off if it wasn't for the actual guidebook part:
There are but a few maps in the whole book. The ones that are there seem to have been handdrawn and don't even match reality most of the time. The author would have been better off just including screenshots of OpenStreetMap ... Instead there are long descriptions where to turn off a street or, in a seemingly random manner, GPS coordinates of some of the locations.
There are a lot of photos, which would have been awesome if they had been taken at the same angles as the sparsely movie shots included in the book. Most of the time they're just average landscape pictures that don't help you at all.
Sometimes you read through a page describing the amazing setting and in the last paragraph the author states "unfortunately, this is now private land / inaccessible / transformed by some business".
In between the descriptions of the locations are pages filled with generic information about certain regions with restaurant recommendations. I'm having a hard time imagining a case where anyone would need that, since nobody is relying on a movie location guidebook as a substitute for a general tourist guidebook.
Seriously, if you want to visit the filming locations just google and you'll find dozens of blogs that do a better job than this book.
February 6, 2023
Although this is clearly coming from a devoted fan of the movies, it is a little bit disorganized in terms of the overall structure. That is, if we are to follow the chronology of the events in the movie, we're obviously going to be going all over the map (literally), even from shot to shot in some cases. That is not what Brodie does. Instead, he tries to make a tourist-friendly organization that moves from location to location, which makes it a bit hard to figure out what happens when, but can be understood if you have a really good knowledge of the books or the movies. That's not everyone, obviously.
Also, now that Hobbiton has become a well and truly permanent location and tourist attraction, perhaps a bit of an update would be useful for the Matamata location. The book has halted after the initial movies' shooting, but since the filming of The Hobbit (probably way too long, but that's another discussion), the Shire has become a much more fixed spot on the New Zealand tourist map.
One thing to add: Peter Jackson made a point of putting an artificial tree above Bag End, one that is slightly smaller than the one featured in Lord of the Rings. Why is it smaller? Because it's sixty years earlier and younger, obviously! That's the attention to detail that he brought to this whole production. Amazing.
Also, now that Hobbiton has become a well and truly permanent location and tourist attraction, perhaps a bit of an update would be useful for the Matamata location. The book has halted after the initial movies' shooting, but since the filming of The Hobbit (probably way too long, but that's another discussion), the Shire has become a much more fixed spot on the New Zealand tourist map.
One thing to add: Peter Jackson made a point of putting an artificial tree above Bag End, one that is slightly smaller than the one featured in Lord of the Rings. Why is it smaller? Because it's sixty years earlier and younger, obviously! That's the attention to detail that he brought to this whole production. Amazing.
November 13, 2018
Ian Brodie's "Lord of the Rings: Locations guidebook" would be a great place to start planning a trip to some (or all, for the extremely ambitious and well-endowed) of these filming locations. The stories about where the actors went in their spare time and what locations were their favorite to film from, etc. were the best parts of this book. Quotes from key members of the Fellowship cast, which is something you cannot get from 'unauthorized' guidebooks, are included throughout the work.
However, this cannot be the only guide you use when actually visiting these places. The directions are confusing, the maps poorly conceived and some of the tour specifics outdated. I visited Hobbiton myself two weeks ago, and I can say that there was definitely no sheep sheering opportunities available as part of our half day Hobbiton guided tour, even though we could see that there were sheep present on the surrounding farmland owned by the same family.
I would recommend this to movie buffs, fans of LOTR and anyone planning a visit to any of these locations. This is more like a keepsake or something to add to your LOTR bookshelf collection, not an actual guidebook to lead you to these locations. You'll still need to go through accredited guided tours in order to see these places in real life. When actually booking a trip to New Zealand, you would need to confirm all necessary details directly with the vendors themselves.
But this was a fun read and a good starting point.
However, this cannot be the only guide you use when actually visiting these places. The directions are confusing, the maps poorly conceived and some of the tour specifics outdated. I visited Hobbiton myself two weeks ago, and I can say that there was definitely no sheep sheering opportunities available as part of our half day Hobbiton guided tour, even though we could see that there were sheep present on the surrounding farmland owned by the same family.
I would recommend this to movie buffs, fans of LOTR and anyone planning a visit to any of these locations. This is more like a keepsake or something to add to your LOTR bookshelf collection, not an actual guidebook to lead you to these locations. You'll still need to go through accredited guided tours in order to see these places in real life. When actually booking a trip to New Zealand, you would need to confirm all necessary details directly with the vendors themselves.
But this was a fun read and a good starting point.
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August 2, 2021Useless book. I want to know exactly WHAT is filmed WHERE, in specifics, right up front, NOT having to read through endless paragraphs waxing poetic about the landscape and its geological history. Even includes places that were NOT used for filming. Lacks maps, impossible to get a visual understanding of their location - which you'd think was the purpose of the book. Unorganised and frustrating to read.
December 3, 2023
Lucky find on the coffee table of our Airbnb in Queenstown. I devoured it in two nights (discovering we were only a few kilometers from the Wargs!). If you are going to New Zealand and you love Middle Earth, definitely connect with this book before/during your trip! An adventurous compilation of Maōri culture, New Zealand geography/topography, in addition to quotes from Tolkien and the LOtR cast. Was happy to know I was in the land of Rohan, heading toward the Misty Mountains; etc. Super cool.
February 13, 2021
Pretty informative, but as a guidebook has some fatal flaws. It definitely needs more maps throughout the books when talking about each location, rather than relying on coordinates. Obviously this was designed with the purpose of reading it cover-to-cover like I did, but a reference guide, so I can’t be too harsh, and I haven’t tried to go to the places recommended. So three stars I guess.
January 17, 2020
I went to New Zealand for 5 weeks and this is the only book I read!
As a guidebook, this wasn't actually very useful, but it did have a bunch of interesting facts about the Lord of the Rings that I enjoyed.
Ready to get back to some real books now!
As a guidebook, this wasn't actually very useful, but it did have a bunch of interesting facts about the Lord of the Rings that I enjoyed.
Ready to get back to some real books now!
February 2, 2020
This is a really good book to find more information about the filming locations. I loved the images and all of the websites and co-ordinates for every location they used. Very useful for when I someday visit New Zealand and take the tour to all these locations.
November 6, 2017
Love this to bits! Wished I had followed it closely when travelling NZ.
March 27, 2019
Good information about locations and if one is going to New Zealand to see as many LOR locations as possible this is a must have.
February 27, 2022
I borrowed this book from the National Library mostly to look at the photos. I learned how the scenes were manicured to suit the movies and adapt. New Zealand is so beautiful.
April 28, 2022
I can't wait to return to New Zealand with this book in hand. So want to see more of the film sites.
April 28, 2023
If you like Lord of the Rings, you'll love this book because it goes into the locations they filmed at and has a little behind the scenes quotes
May 11, 2024
Finished early the bogging was interacting but the actual information is all about how to get to it.
May 9, 2025
Love LOTR. Love NZ. I want to go back.
February 22, 2007
I actually own the original edition (2002), which does not show up on Amazon, but this edition looks more comprehensive anyway (mine only includes locations from FOTR). There are especially a lot of locations around Queenstown, and of course there are all sorts of LOTR tours, but we had a lot of fun driving ourselves around to some of these. Ian Brodie posted a message about this book on Amazon.com, if anyone is interested, here.
February 19, 2015
I have the deluxe version, which is now available in New Zealand, perhaps elsewhere. Wish I had this book before I went to New Zealand. Still, the book helped me identify the spots where I had taken pictures. The photos are lovely. The text is helpful but a bit dry. I imagine that this book would be very helpful to people who have a car and a GPS system. You could find film locations that were not available to me, who was dependent on tour operators.
November 14, 2011
I found a neat little book on Lord of the Rings filming locations at The Reader’s Corner the other day (I adore that place), and it was astoundingly thorough and would, I think, be extremely useful if one were planning a trip to New Zealand. I’m not, but I thought it was fascinating anyway. Definitely keeping for my one-day world travels.
October 24, 2011
A tourist eye view of the scenes and settings used in New Zealand for Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" movies. Probably useful if you plan to visit New Zealand and plan to see the sights and sounds as might have been seen and heard by the various members of the Fellowship of the Ring during the course of making the movies.
December 26, 2011
Great book... my husband's friend just came back from New Zealand and gave this to him as a gift since he is dying to go. It gives all the locations of the shoots PLUS maps on how to get there. Beautiful pictures to go along with all the locations. Perfect for someone going to New Zealand or someone dreaming about it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews