Wellington's Original HD LOTR Experience - includes Weta Tour
Description
Descend into the forested slopes of the Outer Shire, where our expert guides will entertain you with stories of how the Lord of the Rings movies were brought to life. Follow in the footsteps of Frodo and the Hobbits as they began their quest to destroy the One Ring. You will see the "shortcut to mushrooms", "get off the road" and hide from the Black Riders before fleeing to the Buckleberry Ferry. Recreate some of the most famous scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring and make your social media streams go crazy! Then delve into the heart of Wellywood and visit the Weta Workshop, who created all the props, armour, weapons, costumes, miniatures and prosthetics for the Middle-earth movies. Learn the secrets of movie magic on a behind-the-scenes tour by a Weta employee, who will explain the creative process behind bringing these films to life. You'll also have chance to take photos with various characters and weapons, as well as treating yourself to a souvenir or two, if desired.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Drive past the Embassy Theatre that was used to host two world premieres of the Middle-earth movies - The Return of the King and An Unexpected Journey. Your guide will share stories and pictures of how Wellington was transformed literally into the middle of Middle-earth.
Enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the harbour and city from the Mt Victoria lookout. Your guide will talk about the landmarks you can see from the top and help you take photos. Mt Victoria is always on the list of things to do in Wellington, so we thought we'd save you the trouble of walking up the hill to get there!
Descend into the forested slopes of the nearby Outer Shire, where our expert guides will explain the process of film making and entertain you with stories of how the Lord of the Rings movies were brought to life. You will follow in the footsteps of Frodo and the Hobbits as they began their quest to destroy the One Ring. You will see the "shortcut to mushrooms", "get off the road" and hide from the Black Riders before fleeing to the Buckleberry Ferry. You will have the chance to recreate some of the most famous scenes from The Fellowship of the Ring and make your social media streams go crazy!
Do a 'Behind the scenes' tour at Weta to learn about the many Famous movies they have made, including our favorite films 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Be aware that pick up may be arranged up to 15mins before or after the scheduled departure time. This will be communicated to you 24-48 hours before your tour. For anyone arriving by cruise ship, we can pick-up and drop-off directly from the port. Please select Cruise Ship Port when booking and advise your ship name. Please be ready at the main entrance of your hotel unless otherwise informed - some hotel pick ups will involve meeting a few meters away so we can stop safely. Please note that we can't pick up from every hotel or AirBnBs around the suburbs. If your hotel is not listed, enter your own pick up location and we will contact you to advise the best place to meet. If you are staying outside Wellington City and plan to drive into town, we recommend parking on Barnett Street next to Te Papa Museum.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- This tour is not wheelchair accessible
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(330)
So, so awesome!! Our drive/tour guide had been an extra on several occasions and was just had a wealth of knowledge. We were overjoyed with the Weta experience and our Guide there was a nerd—happily so—and yay! For us as he, too, lived, ate and breathed info about LOTR movies and Weta’s part in the productions. We will definitely seek out Viator excursions vs. cruise ship excursions! Thank you!!!!
Many of our team work in film and a lot of us even got to work on LOTR !!! Thanks for the review.
The tour relied primarily on the visit to WETI. We stood at Mt Victoria and the guide pointed to different locations in the far distance that were shooting scenes wr wouldn't visit. We went to a wooded area where three scenes were filmed, then to WETI for a 1.5 hour tour. 'The Original LOTR Tour' is not a significant tour for LOTR fans.
Sorry you didn't get your LOTR fix. The half day tour is just an introduction to the locations we have to visit here in Wellington and a look at the studios. The full day version then spends the afternoon visiting all the other sites that are at the far edges of the region set in the spectacular forests and rivers and a great lunch together as a group. If you find yourself back this way i would be happy to let you join us FOC to see the full experience. Thanks for the feedback.
Great tour and great tour guide, highly recommend - my partner has never watched lord of the rings but still loved it
We know the fans bring there friends and family so we designed the tour to be interesting for even people who don't know the films. Thanks for the feedback.
Excellent driver/tour guide. WETA tour guide was also excellent. Drive to filming locations was local, walking in the wooded areas was a plus.
Thank you for your wonderful review! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed both the tour and your visit to Wētā Workshop. Wellington's filming locations are especially rewarding because they combine beautiful native bush with fascinating movie history. Thank you for choosing to spend time from your cruise to visit Wellington with us. We hope to welcome you back to Wellington and Middle-earth again someday! Ngā mihi, The Wellington Rings Tours Team
My tour guide Sarah was excellent, being very welcoming, showing interest in each of the members of the tour, and having a great knowledge of both Wellington and Lord of the Rings. The Weta Workshop tour is a must-see. This was a great introduction to Wellington, and I’d have gladly picked the full day tour if I had more time.
The experience was wonderful. Randy, our guide, was full of fun and inciteful knowledge. His part was better than the Weta Tour. Chewy (Michael) helped us more than I can say at the port.
We do have a great team of super knowledgeable guides. Chewy and the ops team work hard every day to make sure we cut through any chaos that the port can bring and make the process of joining the tour as smooth as possible. Thanks for the feedback.
Excellent commentary throughout tour. Hamish, our guide full of interesting facts about the areas. Cannot recommend high enough this tour. Great price, excellent communication, with provider.
We pride ourselves on customer service from booking to the end of the tour. Thanks for the feedback.
We found Natalie very informative, friendly and funny. She answered all our questions and told us all about Wellington as well on the way there and back. She’s lives in wellington so has great knowledge of the area
Our passionate local guides love sharing their knowledge and city. Thanks for the feedback.
This was a fantastic experience! Our tour guide Ben was very experienced, knowledgeable and personable! Whether you are just learning about Lord of the Rings, a huge fan, or just want to see some beautiful landscapes, this is an amazing tour for all! The Weta Workshop experience was also fantastic! It was really eye opening to see how far wardrobe, props, and animatronics have come in movies! Definitely recommend this to anyone of any age!
Ben has been on fire from the recent feedback ;) This is a great way to learn about the films and see our beautiful region at the same time. Thanks.
Ben was an AWESOME tour guide. The amount of enthusiasm and knowledge he has about LOTR and Wellington is amazing. Because of this, he makes everyone feel enthusiastic about everything. It makes a difference! We loved touring the park filming location and the Weta studio. We had to use our imagination for the scenes and the pictures help. We were also lucky that we had the most beautiful sunny day after cool and cloudy weather. Highly recommend!
We have made a great LOTR tour but it is nothing with our passionate team of guides to bring it all to life. Thanks for the feedback.
