Fangorn & loads of miles

The weather was a bit manky, but round here, it often clears up later in the day, so around 10 I set off for a +200k round trip to Mavora Lakes.

On the way out of Queenstown I stopped for a father & son from Germany who were going to Milford Sound. I told them I could drop them off about an hr from Te Anau, so they got in.

Lenny (son, aged 15) is at school here & his English is very good. He did a great job of translating for his Dad, & when he found out I was going to some LOR locations - esp Fangorn Forest, he pursuaded his Dad to detour with me.

The road off the state haighway was gravel for @ 40 K, so it took >3 hours to get there. Lenny was using my Brodie pages to navigate & we found the woods where Merry & Pippin hid from the orcs.
I got Lenny & Dad (Johan) to pose as the hobbits for a photo..
God knows what Johan was thinking - mad dogs & Englishwomen go out in the pouring rain, no doubt!

Then it was down to the shore of North Mavora which was where the Fellowship made camp after sailing down the Anduin. I think I got the spot where poor old Sean Astin had to do his drowning act (Don't you leave him, Sam Gamgee!)
At least it was sunny for all of his takes!, but the shore line across the lake was very recognisable from the film.

Third location of the day was the Orc Pyre scene, & thanks to the picture from the book, & was able to tell exactly where it was.
Lenny posed as Legolas, & his poor Dad knelt in the wet grass, pretending to be Aragorn.
Unfortunately, the mountain in the background got covered in cloud/mist, so I made them wait until it had blown away!
Poor Johan was sucked into our enthusiasm, though & didn't complain out loud - not in English, anyway.

A few meters away was a wonderfully mossy wood. It was really green & lush, & totally Fangorny. Lenny clicked away on his phone taking photos & my battery died - aaaaagggghhh!
However, I don't think any photos could have truly demonstrated the ageless feeling of the place - you could really feel the presence of the Ents, but Treebeard was probably at home in the dry, & didn't join us!

Given I'd traipsed Lenny & Johan around in the rain for close on 2 hours, I offered to take them all the way to Te Anau - they'd never got a lift if I'd just left them on the road side.

It took just under an hour to get from Fangorn to Te Anau
Lenny & Johan went to find a hostel & I went to find a loo.
Just on the roadside by the WCs was a Fish & Chip caravan (they're all over the place here!) & I had a late lunch of Blue Cod & chips while I paddled in Lake Te Anau.
This caused quite a bit of amusement from the strollers along the promenade as they were all wrapped up against the weather & I was in shorts, eating fish & chips, & paddling.
Well, me & water, & all that

I couldn't eat all the chips so I saved them for tea.

The trip back was quicker as there was no gravel road & I got back here by 6.30.

As I have less than 5 minutes remaining, it's
OAO for today