On a recent trip to Christchurch, Methven and Queenstown, Flight Centre Travel Consultant Belinda van Tholen experienced a Lord of the Rings tour with Hassle Free Tours. From seeing Edoras, Helms Deep and the famous battle grounds from the movie to taking some copy cat shots Belinda had an all in all fantastic day.

Belinda in New Zealand

I now know that the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) Edoras tour isn't only for die hard LOTR fans.  What a great way to see the amazing  countryside in Canterbury! Our day trip was ran by Hassle Free Tours, it departs from Christchurch and will pick you up almost anywhere. On the drive up to Mt Pott's station, the scene is set with video excerpts from the famous series with a big emphasis on the actors years spent filming in New Zealand.

The countryside is breathtaking – snow capped mountains, deep ravines, rivers and rolling hills. I was in awe everywhere I looked! The best part is you get to go off road and get up close and personal with Mt Sunday – where the Lord of the Rings creators built the city of Edoras. We made the trek up Mt Sunday where the higher you get, the more spectacular the scenery becomes. You can imagine the movie being filmed there with the mountains that form the backdrop of Helms Deep on one side, battle grounds on the other.  We carried up some original memorabilia from the films including some very heavy swords which made for some creative photo opportunities!

All in all, this is a great day trip from Christchurch! Champagne lunch, stunning scenery and lots of opportunities to picture scenes from one of the worlds most famous trilogies.

For more information on this fantastic day trip, Queenstown, Christchurch or Methven contact Belinda van Tholen 03 6336 7900 at the Flight Centre, Charles Street.