The Nelson Tasman region is home to seven film locations covering the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and The Hobbit trilogies. Check out the sites in the LOTR and The Hobbit film location guidebooks.
Takaka Hill at Caanan Downs became Chetwood Forest in The Lord of the Rings, and where scenes for the Anduin Grasslands and Beorn’s House were filmed for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Mt Owen (Dimrill Dale) where the Fellowship hide from the crebain, Saruman's black crows in the Fellowship of the Ring.
Mt Olympus (South of Rivendell) escape the Mines of Moira in the Fellowship of the Ring.
In West Golden Bay, Kaihoka Station featured in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as Weatherhills in the scene where The Company arrives at a destroyed farmhouse. The location is on private land but can be visited with Cape Farewell Horse Treks.
Salisbury Falls and Aorere River was the film site where Tauriel & Legolas meet before heading into Lake-town in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
The One Ring Jeweller, Jens Hansen were the designers of over 40 rings designed for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Pelorus River, half way between Blenheim and Nelson on State Highway 6 Sir Peter Jackson chose this recreational paradise – a river valley tucked into one corner of a forested conservation area – as the setting for the now famous ‘dwarves escaping in barrels’ scene.
