What a beautiful cinema & plenty of history to go with this one too. The Embassy Theatre is located at the Eastern end of Courtenay Place in the shadow of Mount Victoria. It was thrust into the international cinematic limelight when it hosted the world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on December 1, 2003. Nearly 120,000 people lined the red carpet along Courtenay Place to watch the procession of actors and filmmakers as they made their way into the theatre for the screening. The theatre also hosted the Australasian premieres of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. The theatre held a red carpet screening of Peter Jackson's King Kong in 2005 and the 2012 world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Check out the best vantage point in our beautiful city. Breathtaking 360 degree views of the central business district, the harbour & the ocean to the south. Stunnnnning! Legend has it that Wellington harbour, originally a land-locked lake, was home to two large and very active taniwha (sea monsters). One taniwha forged a passage to the open sea creating the entrance to the harbour. The second, named Whataitai, tried a different route, became stranded and died. It is believed that Tangi-te keo (Mt Victoria) was named after the soul of Whataitai. Probably the best photo opportunity on the tour, our guide/host would be delighted to be your personal photographer for the day. What a beautiful city!

HOBBITS HIDEAWAY Not only is Mount Victoria the best vantage point in Wellington with those 360 degree views but where the first day of filming took place for the Lord of the Rings trilogy back in 1998. Some of the most iconic scenes from the trilogy were filmed here & your guide will use imagery from the trilogy to bring those scenes to life. Hideaway from the Black Riders & move swiftly to Buckleberry ferry & who knows, maybe we might just recreate those scenes........Don't forget, your guide LOVES taking photos for you. Your guide will share loads of insider knowledge weaned from training given by Lord of the Rings experts & hours of watching behind the scenes documentaries! Get off the rooooad!

WETA CAVE Don't be fooled into thinking we're here to see some New Zealand native insects up close...... Whilst the Weta is a native new zealand cricket like insect, its also the name of a World famous Film & Special Effects company right here in little old Wellington! Arguably Weta is most famous for the incredible work of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, however their impact on the greater industry is much broader than that. Included in your cost of the tour, you'll also participate in the 90 minute behind the scenes Weta Cave experience. Our guide will check you in for that. This is also your chance to purchase some memorabilia, check out some of the items on show in the mini museum & you'll even have a photo opportunity with the Cave Trolls! At Ka Rawe, our guides make great photographers too. Once we leave the Weta Cave, we check out the Wellington sign on our travels, this is the one our friends from Hollywood copied!!

We make our way back into the city around the bay & your guide will keep you informed as we go. We make it around to Oriental Bay known for being both a popular beach and an opulent centre of affluence in the city. Its a little bit pricey around here!. You'll get to see some amazing architecture & perhaps this will be the only "man made" beach you'll ever see in your lives!!? Check out Carter Fountain too. Originally named Duppa Bay after its original sole resident George Duppa, it was renamed to Oriental Bay after one of the first to bring settlers here to Wellington. Spectacular! Beautiful

HUTT VALLEY & QUARRY We take a short journey out to the Hutt Valley region, where more film magic was made. Whilst it looks a little different these days, the Dry Creek Quarry housed some of the most impressive sets from the film. Believe it or not, this is where the epic Battle of Helms Deep was shot. Our guide helps bring these scenes to life with historic pictures & images from the film. They'll also share some of the lesser known facts about the film that relate to this particular site. For example, did you know that some of the crowd noise generated for the Battle of Helms Deep was derived from an International Cricket match that took place around the time of filming?? Genius huh!!? A reminder, don't forget to bring your imagination!

The locals know this location as Poets Corner, however at Ka Rawe, we know it & show it as part of the Riven Anduin! Similar to the Dry Creek Quarry, whilst much has changed here in the last 25 years, what hasn't changed is that Poets corner served as part of the River Anduin where the Fellowship travelled in boats after leaving Lothlorien. Our guide will share other interesting facts regarding this location as we do throughout our journey, we bring these facts to life with supporting imagery.

ISENGARD We continue our journey a little deeper in to the Hutt Valley & as we slip off the main thoroughfare, we encounter what the locals know as Harcourt Park but we prefer to recognise as Isengard! A great opportunity to recreate one of the shots from the film where the background still looks largely similar to how it did those 25 years ago. We showcase some of Peter's ingenuity as we reimagine how he shot some of the scenes & how they morphed into the final images you see on screen. As always, our guide is happy to act as photographer for you & has images to share to fuel your imagination! And we share a little insiders knowledge as we go.

Well if you ever wanted to experience the beautiful scenery & mature that New Zealand is renowned for, then look no further than Kaitoke Regional Park. We prefer to think of it as Rivendell! Once again we marvel at Peters ingenuity as we share how composite scenes are created & talk a little about the use of miniatures & bigatures! There can be no mistake that Kaitoke Park was used in the filming of Lord of the Rings, as there are many items & land marks to showcase this fact. Fantastic photo opportunities (again) as we escape the van to soak up the serenity & imagine just what it looked like some 27 years ago. Your guide will once again share some little known facts with you, show you some imagery from the film & act as you personal photographer. Magic!

DROP OFF To conclude our journey, we head back to the city & we rejoice in the success & fun that our day brought to alll!