NZ Part 6 - The King of the Golden Hall

The South Island is known for its natural beauty and generally more rugged and outdoorsy appeal. It's about 33% bigger than the North Island but only 25% of the population live there. It's where you go when you want an adventure and we wanted adventure. Our drive took us through rolling hills of tall golden grass blowing in the wind and then along the coast with black sand beaches and rocky beaches covered with seals. It was hard not to stop at every turn. And we had heard so much about the sheep but had yet to see many. There are supposedly five sheep to every person in New Zealand. Turns out they're all on the South Island or at least most of them. They were everywhere but apparently we failed to take any pictures of them.

Mount Sunday was the filming location of the town of Edoras, where King Theoden lived. The set was built for the movies and torn down after to return the area to its natural state but the location still has the distinct look from the movies. It's in the middle of nowhere, not on the way to anything, with an hour of the drive along a small gravel road. I didn't consider not going for a second. I had a whole speech prepared for the top and even considered a costume because this was no time to be concerned with social norms. Ultimately the high temperature won out though and all memory of a speech left my mind long before we ascended to the top. Nonetheless, it was breathtaking and a dream come true.

“Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!”


Tall grass blowing in the wind.

Black sand beach.

It was incredibly windy and this was the only shelter.

Rocky beach.


Seal or sea lion? I still don't know the difference.


Bridge to Mount Sunday.

Forth Eorlingas!

But no living man am I! You look upon a woman.

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow; the days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.

Some enjoyed the climb more than others.

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

Sting is my name; I am the spider’s bane.

And my axe!

You are a shield-maiden of Rohan.


A great hill of stone and grass, with a stairway winding up its green sides; and at its crown was a golden hall gleaming in the sun.

Cooling off after an unexpectedly tiring hike.


Frankie's favorite part of the day.

Kiwi!

Beatiful Lake Tekapo.

Church of the Good Shepherd.

I think I'm quite ready for another adventure.


Location: Mount Sunday, Ashburton Lakes 7771, New Zealand

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