Today marks 80 years since the publication of The Hobbit. The epic novel by J. R. R. Tolkien makes us wistful for Middle Earth's colossal mountain ranges,http://users.atw.hu/team-axone/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=13807cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg,
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1. Putangirua Pinnacles Scenic Reserve,
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cheap wholesale jordans;Paths of the Dead
The eerie pillars of Putangirua – all that remains of the Aorangi mountain range after seven million years of erosion – were reincarned as the “Path of the Dead” in
Return of the King,
Kicksokok.com.
Three hiking trails lead to the suitably creepy-looking pinnacles, and there’s a camping site nearby too.
Putangirua Pinnacles – aka Path of the Dead
Credit: alamy
2. Mount Ngauruhoe, Tongariro National Park
Also known as: Mount Doom
Tongariro National Park stole some of the biggest scenes in
Lord of the Rings, with Mount Ngauruhoe (digitally altered) standing in for Mount Doom. Filming at the summit was not permitted because the peak is sacred in Maori culture; however, some scenes were filmed on its lower slopes.
The drama can be reimagined on the hiking trails, starting from Tongariro's visitor centre.
Mount Ngauruhoe was Jackson's inspiration for Mount Doom
Credit: alamy
3. Matamata, Waikato
Also known as: Hobbiton
“Hobbiton needed to be warm, comfortable and feel lived in,” said film director Peter Jackson of the search for a location for Hobbiton, the home of Frodo and Bilbo. He settled on a farm in Matamata, and built an entire village of Hobbit proportions.
“By letting the weeds grow through the cracks and establishing hedges and little gardens a year before filming, we ended up with an incredibly real place, not just a film set,” he said. In 2011, a more permanent version of the set was created for
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – and it has since been transformed into a fun visitor centre, where you can have a drink in the Green Dragon Inn and visit Bag End (Bilbo's house).
Hobbiton really does exist – and it's in Matamata
Credit: NZ Tourist Board
4. Fiordland National Park, Te Anau
Also known as: Fangorn Forest
This beautiful national park doubles as the mythical Fangorn Forest in
The Two Towers. The park is a 1.2 million hectare playground of mountains, rainforest, lakes and fjords – a spectacular location for exploring on horseback, pretending you’re Gandalf on his trusty Shadowfax.
Fiordland National Park, or Fangorn Forest to Hobbit fans
Credit: alamy
5. Kawarau Gorge, Central Otago
Also known as: Anduin River
When the Fellowship paddled down Anduin River in the first
Lord of the Rings film, they were greeted by two towering statues – and although you won’t spot them in real life (they were post-production wizardry), the area’s natural beauty packs a mighty punch.
Kawarau Gorge
Credit: alamy
6. Mount Sunday, Canterbury
Also known as: Edoras
This sheer-sided hill in the middle of a plain in the Rangitata River valley became Edoras, the main city of the Rohan people, in Jackson's
Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Mount Sunday, where Edoras was set
Credit: alamy
7. Lake Pukaki, Canterbury
Also known as: Laketown
Stunning Lake Pukaki was chosen as the location for Laketown in
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Glacial waters feed into the lake, giving it a vibrant blue colour.
An extensive outdoor set built for
The Hobbit trilogy
was created at Tasman Downs Station on the shores of Lake Pukaki, but it has since been dismantled. Let your imagination run wild instead.
Lake Pukaki is famous for its blue hues
Credit: alamy
8. Piopio, Waitomo
Also known as: Trollshaws Forest
This area in the Waitomo District provided the location for Trollshaws Forest and Staddles Farm, which feature in a number of scenes from
An Unexpected Journey.
Piopio
Credit: hamiltonwaikato.com
Denize Bluffs, a family-owned farm, was commandeered for filming on a few different occasions. The owners, Suzie and Warrick Denize, now run Hobbit-themed tours of their property, so you can picnic in the same spot where Bilbo was almost eaten by a trio of hungry trolls.
View more!
9. Pelorus River
Also known as: Forest River
Jackson chose the Pelorus River, at the northern end of South Island, to film the dwarves in barrels scene that appears in
The Desolation of Smaug. Most of the scene was filmed in a studio, but the Pelorus is the real-life backdrop.
You can kayak on the rapids – which is considerably nicer than a barrel.
Nice spot for a bob in a barrel
Credit: alamy
10. Mt Ruapehu, Turoa
Also known as: Hidden Bay
Mount Ruhapehu towers over the lowlands of the North Island’s great Central Plateau. The rocky slopes of the mountain were the setting for Hidden Bay, the entrance to the Lonely Mountain in
The Desolation of Smaug.
Mt Ruapehu is also a popular skiing spot
Credit: alamy
The Panelbase poll for The Sunday Times, conducted four weeks after Mr Murphy’s election, shows his party cutting the SNP lead to 10 points, compared to the previous poll by the company in November.
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said it had made a fresh start and “Scots are willing to listen to us again”.
He added: “Scots who want to see the back of David Cameron should vote for Scottish Labour to make sure that Labour is the biggest party.”
In recent weeks, the oil price has dropped below dollars50 a barrel, while the SNP’s economic predictions during the referendum campaign were based on a figure of dollars113.
Earlier this month, Alex Salmond, the former first minister, said SNP MPs would demand full tax powers for Scotland in return for backing a Labour Government in a hung parliament, despite warnings that such a move would mean billions of pounds worth of Scottish spending cuts.
With experts warning that the North Sea is facing “irreversible” damage, the poll also found that 22 per cent of SNP supporters believe the case for independence has been weakened.
Last week, Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, said Scotland’s economic partnership with the rest of the UK had cushioned the “negative shock” caused by the oil price north of the border.
Prof Curtice said in his What Scotland Thinks blog that the SNP’s lead was at its lowest level in any Scotland-only poll for three months.
He added that the figures also revealed how a modest improvement in Labour’s figures can have a substantial impact on the party’s seats at Westminster.
With Labour at 28 per cent in the previous poll, it stood to win just 10 seats in May, while a 31 per cent figure would see that total double.
However, he also said the poll confirmed that Mr Murphy was “not a major crowd puller”, with 21 per cent of respondents satisfied with his performance, compared to 42 per cent for Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister.
Stewart Hosie MP, deputy leader of the SNP, said the “remarkable” poll showed support for the party remained strong, with overwhelming support for the inclusion of the SNP in televised debates in Scotland.
Meanwhile, John Swinney, the Finance Minister, will this week perform an about turn on his proposed rates for a new tax on property purchases.
He has been forced to revise his plans for the Land and Buildings Transaction tax, which is to replace stamp duty, after being undercut by George Osborne.
The embarrassing climb down was forced after the Chancellor announced a rate of five per cent for properties costing pounds250,000-pounds925,000, which would have left house buyers in Scotland worse off under Mr Swinney’s 10 per cent rate for properties over a quarter of a million pounds.
* On a visit to Dundee on Monday, as the Scottish Labour Shadow Cabinet meets outside Edinburgh for the first time, Mr Murphy will unveil a five-point plan for the city as he reaches out to former Labour supporters who voted for independence.
