The
fellowship is falling apart, Boromir is dead and Saruman
(Christopher Lee)
is planning to wage war on Middle Earth.
Way east of Queenstown,
near Poolburn Dam
in the Ida Valley
about 25 miles east of Alexandra, stood the village
on the ëPlains of Rohaní, where the children are sent
off to safety before the Orc attack. The village set
no longer stands.
For obvious practical reasons, the ëDead Marshesí had
to be created on sets, but the wider landscape shots
are the Kepler Mire,
largest of the wetlands in the Te
Anau basin, once again in the Fiordland
region and an important nature conservancy area, which
gave rise to concern about the effect filming might
have on the delicate ecosystem.
Lord of the Rings location: Minas Tirith and the Battle of Helm's Deep: Dry Creek Quarry, Haywards Hill, Wellington
The huge fortress city of ëMinas Tirithí and ìHelmís
Deepî, where the awesome climactic battle takes place,
were built at Dry Creek Quarry,
a vast mining complex surrounded by a chainlink fence
at the bottom of Haywards Hill
in Wellington. (rail:
Manor Park). Dry Creek is a working quarry and the
sets have been removed.
