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| Where Pete & I had ridden on the last 2 days ~ taken driving along the track from Glenmac |
By 8 past 8 I'd done the 65 or so K to Omarama, including a stop to take a pic of some wild goats precariously gramnivorating on a hillside to the left of the SH83.
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| A goat close up |
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| Any white blobs are probably goats Respect! |
I got some more gas & coffee at the Mobil garage, & took a left onto the SH8 at 0815.
My flight was at 1130, & I was on schedule at Cromwell, turning off the SH8 at 0919 & about 175K.
An hour & another 80K later I arrived at Queenstown, & left my bags at Nomads.
I had plenty of time as I only had carry-on luggage, so I tried to get some elf ears, & went online at the library to E Alex about his jacket.
Back at the airport, I did the cheap parking option & parked the car (with all the other cheapskates ;-p ) on the roadside ~ the SH6 between Q/town & Invercargill. It would be safe overnight: this is New Zealand we're talking about!
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| The Hobbit paint job on an AirNZ model |
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| Bilbo over the wing |
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| Thorin & crew forward |
I had a brew at the airport, took the photos of the heroes I was to watch that evening, boarded, flew, & landed in the rain.
On the bus into town, I telephoned Faye ~ see NZ 2009 blog, but as it was short notice, she had a friend with her, & it was pouring, we agreed to postpone.I had a hair appointment at the The Powder Room on Cuba St.: They were going to attempt to make my hair look like Tauriel's!
The bus dropped me off at the bottom, so I walked with my hood up & the coat over the little ruckie to keep the rain off everything.
I was early, but Emma was ready, so she got stuck in & did what she could with my fine, newly gingered, hair. I held a tablet with a pic of Tauriel's hairdo for her to copy the French plait. Once done she took me upstairs to have my eyebrows tinted & put concealer on the big bite scar between my eyebrows. Thanks to the bites I got in Northland, I had been left with a big red mark.
Emma curled/waved the ends of my hair, but I wasn't hopeful of the waves staying in. My hair's not conducive to being styled! Sadly, & despite LOTS of hairspray, the waves had mostly dropped out by the time I got to the Y on Wakefield. At least I'd managed to find some elf ears on the walk back there. I also bought some hairspray in the hope I could repair the damage done by the rain & wind (I was in Wellington remember ;-p ).
I checked-in & found I was in a 4-bedded dorm on the 6th floor. There were 3 German girls already there when I arrived.
By this time I was pretty hungry, so I walked round to Courtney place & grabbed some fish & chips to take back to the Y. The dining room was heaving with a school trip, but I found a seat & ate them out of the paper. My notes say they weren't the best F&C I'd eaten, but they filled the hole. There was no free tea/coffee, so I ate them with hot water. At >$35 a night, you'd think they could manage free brews?
The party was due to start at 8 at the Roxy out at Miramar, & I'd checked out the bus options back at home. The number 31 from Courtney Place would get me there in 16 min, & having got my Tauriel costume on, I set off early to get the bus just before 7.
It stopped just outside the Roxy, & 2 Japanese in fancy dress also got off. As I was 45 min early, & a lady at the Roxy said they weren't yet ready, I went to a Mexican restaurant just down the road. I had a cider & a brew.
It was called Boca Loca, & I was in there about an hour.
There was a queue when I went back to the Roxy.
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| The Roxy queue of hobbits, dwarves, wizards & elves |
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| Statue of Gandalf & me. Note orange coat~the sleeves became important later! |
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| The foyer at the Roxy cinema w Bilbo et al! With that hair, it may have been Sam? |
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| There were dwarven style carvings to give the Roxy the atmospheric feeling of Erebor's interior |
Once in, there was a bit of a hoohaa about my lack of a ticket for the film at midnight, but Julie confirmed I'd paid (ages ago!) & I joined the queue for a souvenir photo. It came out like a film strip & had me standing between Gandalf & Bilbo w Gwaihir overhead.
One of the photos was turned into a badge, & when we all left after the film, we also got a goodie-bag & some postcards of characters from the film. The bag contained a piece of film-strip, & my bit was 10 frames of Aragorn talking to Frodo!
I think it was the bit on Amon Hen.
Cool :-)
Wearing my yellow movie wrist band, I went exploring.
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| Middle Earth style nosh |
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| A company of dwarves outside the Roxy |
I wandered about, eating & drinking (non-alcoholic), & taking some photos of various outfits. There was great one of Thranduil, & the eventual winner was a girl dressed in a dress made of golden discs ~ she called herself The Kingdom of Erebor, & she won the fancy dress competition judged by Richard & Tanya Taylor.
In his speech before announcing the winner, Richard said they had chosen it because of the 'concept' of it rather than just copying the costume of a character. He was very complimentary :-)
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| The string quartet |
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| Aragorn |
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| Dori & a good shot of Bombur's pate |
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| Ori's costume |
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| Dori's costume |
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| Nori's costume |
The food was Hobbity ~ cheeses, dried & fresh fruit, nuts, & pies big & small.
The drink was all soft, but in champagne glasses & fizzing gently, it looked the part. There were various things to drink it out of. Mine was a jam-jar wrapped in a piece of jute sacking! I subsequently put a load of sweets in it & brought it home for CRT. I got 3 more jars & filled them with sweets for CRT as well!
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| The bubbling brew w dry ice to make it 'steam'. In the bottom right corner there is a small bit of the skirt from 'The Kingdom of Erebor', & you can just about make out her golden shoulder by Aragorn's hand. |
Having eaten my fill (for now :-q ), I used the sleeve of my big orange coat to store my 'takeaways' ;-p
My sleeves looked like orange sausages!
There were Hobbit & LOTR images all over the corridors between the screens, & peeps began sitting in the screen where the film was to be shown Very early on.
I just mingled & meandered, taking photos, eating, drinking a bit more, & chatting to peeps about where they were from.
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| Bofur & an older Bilbo (presumably from the end of the film we haven't seen yet?) |
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| Gandalf the White (Um: wrong film) & Balin |
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| Thorin's 'scale double' & me By this point in the evening there were no waves left in my hair at all! |
At some point in the proceedings I met Thorin's scale-double, Mark Atkin. He's from Sheffield, & my height ~ hence his scale double job. Nice work if you can get it!
I also spoke for a while to an English graphic artist who had a little exhibition in a corner. He'd done some calligraphy & maps for the film, but I didn't catch his name.
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| More food |
Downstairs again, I met Jamie Selkirk, a producer & main editor of the films. He got an Oscar for his editing of The Return of the King.
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| Jamie Selkirk & me Reasonable shot of the ears! Mine, not his ;-p |
Later on in the evening, Lawrence Makoare did a musical & comedy spot on the stage with Shane Rangi, but the photos didn't come out well, so got binned.
Lawrence played Bolg in the Hobbit movies, & several parts in LOTR:
~ Lurtz: Saruman's Uruk Hai commander;
~ The Witch-King of Angmar: Given his come-uppance by Eowyn; &
~ Gothmog: Commander of Sauron's ground forces at Minas Tirith.
Shane was the bald guy with the amazing eye make-up on the Oliphaunt in Return of the King. He got killed by Eomer, & it resulted in mayhem along the line. He was in all 3 Hobbits doing stunts. He's a big bloke!
I did get some of Richard Taylor during the presentations (Aragorn ~ see pic above, was one of the lucky recipients), but it was very crowded & the light wasn't great, so they didn't come out well. They hit the cutting room floor, as it were.
Just before 12 they cleared out the cinema, & all those with a wrist-band queued to get a seat. Thinking it was going to be a long movie, I went to the loo, & judiciously snaffled some loo roll (I was bound to cry!) The necessaries done, I was happy to see there was a seat on row 3. The seats were wide & plush: big leather armchair-like seats with 3D glasses waiting for us all. So I got some pics before everyone put their glasses on.
I had a bit of trouble getting in, as my swipe card had switched of at 0200, & it was now 0330, so I had to hang around waiting for one of the late night smokers to go back in.
Upstairs, the card wouldn't work to open the dorm door either, so I had to knock to get in.
Of course, it was pretty dark in the dorm, but I think I managed to get into bed just before 4am, having woken only the one poor German who let me in.
But they got their own back by waking & packing noisily at 0645. Duh!
Back home nearly 2 years later while I was writing this blog, I went looking for The Kingdom Of Erebor, but I couldn't find any images of her, or her very intricate golden costume.
Shame :-(
You'd've thought someone would've put something on the web, somewhere.
If they did, despite several searches using a variety of words, I couldn't find anything, so gave up.
If you know better, send me a message.
I did find this pic somewhere, & this article in the Daily Mail about a Hobbit costume party, but I don't think it's the same one???
Yuk!
Near the self-service check-in desks I saw Smaug ~ opening & closing his eyes, so got a couple of pics.
Then the flight was called & I got a pic of the 'Middle of Middle Earth' sign on the Terminal building.
The hill under the fuselage is Queenstown Hill, & not the hill known to keen LOTR nerds like me as Deer Park Heights.
Deer Park Heights ~ named in the LOTR commentaries as the place where several scenes were shot, is known as Peninsula Hill by locals, & was sadly closed to the public before I got there in Dec 2009 on my LOTR Location Odyssey :-(
On landing I called NZOne, & confirmed the event was on.
I got directions ~ it was about 10K south down the SH6, so I walked back to the car & off I went.
This blog was just about the morning of the 11th.
In the afternoon I was to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, but that's another story!
OAO
Lawrence played Bolg in the Hobbit movies, & several parts in LOTR:
~ Lurtz: Saruman's Uruk Hai commander;
~ The Witch-King of Angmar: Given his come-uppance by Eowyn; &
~ Gothmog: Commander of Sauron's ground forces at Minas Tirith.
Shane was the bald guy with the amazing eye make-up on the Oliphaunt in Return of the King. He got killed by Eomer, & it resulted in mayhem along the line. He was in all 3 Hobbits doing stunts. He's a big bloke!
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| Me & Shane Rangi |
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| These 2 were pretty accurate, but . . . . |
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| They were really in the wrong film! Frodo & Sam weren't born when the Hobbit took place |
Just before 12 they cleared out the cinema, & all those with a wrist-band queued to get a seat. Thinking it was going to be a long movie, I went to the loo, & judiciously snaffled some loo roll (I was bound to cry!) The necessaries done, I was happy to see there was a seat on row 3. The seats were wide & plush: big leather armchair-like seats with 3D glasses waiting for us all. So I got some pics before everyone put their glasses on.
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| Gandalf (minus his wig!) & Thorin wait for the Battle |
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| Fili She/he was sat just in front of me |
There was a 'Thank you NZ' film on 1st, & it was a good job I'd got tissues ;-p
Then the main event started: The Battle Of Five Armies :-D
It was the last one :-(
It began more or less where the last had ended with Smaug on his way to Lake Town, & as usual, the SFX were great (of course, at that stage I was planning to buy the extended edition so I could see it all!)
There were only a few bits where I noticed the 3D effects, so ~ as with the 5 other PJ Middle earth films, I planned to watch it again at the Odeon at home.
The film was pretty good, but it seemed very short, & at the end everyone stayed in their seats until most of the credits were over.
Once back home, I ordered the extended edition (of course), & I enjoyed that more when it arrived just before Christmas 2015.
At this point in time (Sept 2016) I feel a mega-Tolkein-watch coming on. Maybe next time I'm not on OT at the weekend, & it's too wet to go out, I'll sit down with my home cooked popcorn (salted!), & watch the lot??
Film over we all piled out again, & as it was at the Roxy ~ & not the Reading in town, as originally planned, I managed to blag my way onto a Red Carpet Tours bus going back to a hotel.
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| Party-goers exiting the theatre |
There'd been a competition & all the winners got a special Hobbit/LOTR location tour of NZ, visits to the studios, & meets with peeps like Peter. They got all their flights, from wherever in the world they lived, & weeks' worth of accom. as a prize.
See Daily Mail link with vid below about that.
btw~the vid takes ages to load :-/, but it's quite entertaining :-)
Most of this evening's celebrants had booked the party, film & a couple of day's hotel through Red Carpet Tours, & some were staying in a hotel on Wakefield St, so it was a straightforward walk back to the Y at about 3 in the morning.
On the way back in the coach, I could hear the party-goers discussing their favourite bits. I think Howard Shore's theme for Tauriel & Kili was mine, but it's so beautiful, & such a tear jerker, that even without the visuals, it gets me all weepy.
The film referenced bits from Tolkein's Unfinished Tales etc., which were not in The Hobbit novel, but they helped tie up loose ends, & explain the Gandalf disappearance, & the power of Galadriel.
Thranduil's reference to Strider when speaking Legolas made me want to read all the other books to see where they dug that from, as Legolas did not seem to know who Strider really was in the Council of Elrond scene in Fellowship???
Having now watched the extended edition, & all the extra bits that come with it, it turns out that Christopher Lee's bits were all filmed in England, as he is now too old to go gallivanting off to NZ for a few minutes of screen time. The SFX were so good, you'd never know, if you didn't know, if you get my gist?
The most sad bits were Tauriel's grief over Kili's death, & Bilbo crying over Thorin's death on the ice (great acting by Martin F), & the most fun bits were in the extended edition ~ Billy Connolly's Dain, & the ice chariot sequence.
I think I'll watch the extended edition again . . .
Dropped off at the Red Carpet's hotel, I walked back through a dark & deserted Wellington to the hostel at the end of the road. Wakefield St is about a K long, so it took a few min, but the late nighters I met didn't seem to notice there was an elf among them ;-pI had a bit of trouble getting in, as my swipe card had switched of at 0200, & it was now 0330, so I had to hang around waiting for one of the late night smokers to go back in.
Upstairs, the card wouldn't work to open the dorm door either, so I had to knock to get in.
Of course, it was pretty dark in the dorm, but I think I managed to get into bed just before 4am, having woken only the one poor German who let me in.
But they got their own back by waking & packing noisily at 0645. Duh!
Back home nearly 2 years later while I was writing this blog, I went looking for The Kingdom Of Erebor, but I couldn't find any images of her, or her very intricate golden costume.
Shame :-(
You'd've thought someone would've put something on the web, somewhere.
If they did, despite several searches using a variety of words, I couldn't find anything, so gave up.
If you know better, send me a message.
I did find this pic somewhere, & this article in the Daily Mail about a Hobbit costume party, but I don't think it's the same one???
Hobbit fans spend $65k on elaborate costumes to travel to New ...
Day 22 ~ Dec 11th: Wellington to Queenstown
Like I said, I was woken early by the exiting Germans. My notes say "2 of them were talking in normal voices, and getting off to sleep again didn't really happen".
Although I'd set my alarm for 8, in the end I got up at 0730, packed my 4 jars, & checked out at 0810, having had no breakfast - or a drink :-(
As I had 'carry-on' & only a smallish ruckie, I decided to leave parts of my costume behind (to make room for my jars of Hobbit sweets).
Across the road was a Countdown, so I went there & got stuff to see me until tea time.
As I left, I got a text from Alexis. He was at Nomads, so I'd be able to give him his jacket back.
I was pretty early, so I decided to take the Number 2 to the airport to save a bit of dosh by not taking the Airport Flyer.
The 2 stop was quite a way down Courtney Place, & some 2s were only going to Kilbirnie shops, so I waited about 1/2 an hour until, eventually, a bus for Seatoun came which I knew would take me to the roundabout near the airport. I took that for $5.
While taking buses in Wellington, I noticed how polite all the passengers were. Almost all said Thank You to the driver, & actually sounded like they meant it.
I noticed the same in March 16, but that's a blog yet to be written!
It's only a few minutes walk from the roundabout to the terminal, but I was ready for my Americano with milk when I got there. They say you should order a flat white in NZ if you just want a milky coffee, but it's never flat, but frothy. While taking buses in Wellington, I noticed how polite all the passengers were. Almost all said Thank You to the driver, & actually sounded like they meant it.
I noticed the same in March 16, but that's a blog yet to be written!
Yuk!
Near the self-service check-in desks I saw Smaug ~ opening & closing his eyes, so got a couple of pics.
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| It really needed to be a vid to see the eyes work! Now he sees you . . . |
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| Now he don't |
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| Gwaihir, The Wind Lord Gandalf's aboard as well~see later blogs |
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| I took this while in the queue for boarding |
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| & this from my seat aboard |
I was in seat 11D, & got some decentish photos out of the window, as well as some sleep!
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| The west edge of Lyall Bay with Houghton Bay & Island Bay beyond. |
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| South Island It looked better in real life! |
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| A view at some point showing how dry & sere SI was in December |
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| The Shotover River just before it joins the Karawau from the NW |
Deer Park Heights ~ named in the LOTR commentaries as the place where several scenes were shot, is known as Peninsula Hill by locals, & was sadly closed to the public before I got there in Dec 2009 on my LOTR Location Odyssey :-(
On landing I called NZOne, & confirmed the event was on.
I got directions ~ it was about 10K south down the SH6, so I walked back to the car & off I went.
This blog was just about the morning of the 11th.
In the afternoon I was to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, but that's another story!
OAO
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