The Southern Lakes - a truly epic landscape

The Return of the King, the third and final instalment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy premiered in Wellington in December 2004 shattering box-office records and confirming Peter Jackson's place in the film-makers hall of fame.

In only its first two weeks after release The Return of the King is estimated to have earned over $779 million in box-office takings in 39 countries - the highest numbers for a worldwide film debut and a tribute to the six years of hard work invested in this project by the members of New Zealand's blossoming film industry.

But the real star of the trilogy is not its exhausted director or handsome leading man but the breathtaking beauty and awe-inspiring proportions of New Zealand's natural landscape which breathed tangible life into Tolkien's unique vision of Middle Earth.

'Tolkien's world was one of deep hidden valleys, barren wastelands, remote mystical mountains and lush, low valleys, and we found all these places throughout New Zealand'. Peter Jackson explains his decision to film the popular epic trilogy in the foreword to the latest edition of Ian Brodie's best selling 'Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook'.

Wanaka man Ian Brodie made New Zealand publishing history when the first edition of his Lord of the Rings location guidebook became the fastest selling book on record. The revised edition, including location photographs, information and movie images from the final film, interviews with cast and crew and special features written by Jackson, Barrie Osborne (producer) and Richard Taylor was launched in November 2003 and, together with the original version, has already sold over 205,000 copies. With markets in the UK, Europe, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore and possibly the US, the second edition has launched Brodie onto the world stage as an ambassador for New Zealand at tourism forums and Tolkien galas.

But Brodie isn't the only local entrepreneur to benefit from the overwhelming success of the films. Lord of the Rings fever has incited a surge in tourism numbers in the southern lakes region cleverly harnessed by a number of intriguing Middle Earth-inspired tourism ventures. The distinctive and varied natural landscape encompassing Wanaka, Queenstown and Fiordland provided a wealth of backdrops for all three films but the remoteness necessary to create the illusion of vast uninterrupted panoramas from flat land to snowcapped mountain means many of these locations are only accessible by 4WD, boat or plane.