In Upper Hutt, just outside Wellington, we explored several iconic Lord of the Rings filming locations including Rivendell (Kaitoke Regional Park), the River Anduin (Hutt River), and Isengard Gardens (Harcourt Park). Though the original Rivendell set was removed after filming, the forest setting still feels undeniably elven, with one remaining archway that recreates the gateway to this peaceful realm. We had a blast reenacting scenes among the trees, imagining the Fellowship’s time in Elrond’s house. Nearby, we followed the Hutt River to the exact spot where Aragorn washes ashore in The Two Towers – a must-see for any Middle-earth fan.

📸 Summary

🧝‍♀️ Kaitoke Regional Park (Rivendell)

It was magical seeing Kaitoke Regional Park where Rivendell was filmed. Most of the sets were gone, but the one remaining elven archway was gorgeous. We had fun imagining ourselves as part of the Fellowship in this beautiful place. We posed as Legolas by his famous promotional tree (location: 41°03’25.6″S 175°11’40.2″E), reenacted the famous scene from the Council of Elrond, and went through the Rivendell arch as many members of the Fellowship – Legolas, Boromir, Gandalf and Frodo! Legolas is my favorite so I wore a Legolas-inspired outfit, braided my hair, put on my elf ears, and even brought along a bow and arrow 🙂

🚣 Hutt River (River Anduin)

There are two Aragorn filming locations we found along the Hutt River (River Anduin). The spot where Aragorn washed ashore is located along Gemstone Drive via a small driveway with public access to river. This one was a bit tricky to find, but we found the short path to the river (location: 41°05’30.8″S 175°06’38.2″E). The other spot was the Aragorn rowing scene near Poet’s Park (location: 41°07’08.8″S 175°02’30.8″E).

🌳 Harcourt Park (Isengard Gardens)

The LOTR filming locations at Harcourt Park for Isengard Gardens weren’t very distinguishable (as a lot of CGI was used in the movies), but we still had fun with the reenactments. The first scene we reenacted was where Saruman says to Gandalf “Your love of the halfling’s leaf has clearly slowed your mind” (location: 41°06’04.5″S 175°05’38.9″E). The second scene I reenacted Gandalf riding to Isengard to seek Saruman’s counsel (location: 41°06’05.8″S 175°05’37.0″E).

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