Daily Bruin Abroad: New Zealand
By Daniel Leibowitz
Jan. 18, 2018 3:44 p.m.
Nestled in the rolling hills on a 1200-acre farm outside the town of Matamata, New Zealand, the official movie set for "The Hobbit" has become a world-famous tourist attraction for fans of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Only a select few of the dozens of hobbit houses on the set have doors that actually open. Inside, they extend for about 10 feet with no interior decoration. Nevertheless, it truly provides the experience of feeling as though one is inside a movie.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
As well as the hobbit houses themselves, the set features the natural beauty of New Zealand landscapes. Lush grass, dirt paths and lots of sheep are some of the features visible along the way.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Beginning at The Divide, New Zealand’s famous Routeburn Track runs for 32 kilometers, or about 20 miles, through Fiordland National Park. Before the first hut, Lake Howden Hut, there is an optional detour to a lookout point set above an alpine wetland filled with small pools and a surrounding horizon of sharp peaks.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Most of the track is dirt path or rocky terrain marked with orange poles. However, for fragile environments like wetlands, demarcated wooden pathways are placed to ensure that the ecosystem is disturbed as little as possible by hikers.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Small streams exist all along the Routeburn Track. For the occasional larger water flow, bridges of varying substance are in place.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Earland Falls lies halfway between the Lake Howden and Lake Mackenzie huts, rising 174 meters (about 571 feet) above the trail.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Thick, moss-covered forest filled mostly with Beech trees comprise much of the scenery of the first half of the Routeburn Track.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Beautiful rocky peaks rise above brief open sections of the forest track.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
After the Lake Mackenzie hut there is a steep climb of about 500 meters – about 1640 feet – leading hikers well above the alpine forest treeline and into the much rockier shrubland above.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
At the highest elevation point on the track, near a landmark known as The Saddle, is a large lake surrounded by sheer cliff faces.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
The lake near The Saddle feeds a large stream that runs through a brief grassland area, eventually becoming the Routeburn Falls.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
A hiker’s experience on the Routeburn Track will vary greatly depending on whether it rains or not. Thick cloud cover quickly obscures soaring vistas.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Routeburn Falls provides a stunning setting for the second-to-last hut on the trail, the Routeburn Falls Hut.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Waking up in the morning at the Routeburn Falls Hut, hikers are greeted with one last stunning view at high elevation before descending down into the Routeburn Flats.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
Stretching from the Routeburn Falls to the end of the trail, the Routeburn Flats run through a grassland area at a similar elevation to the very beginning of the hike.
(Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin)
