Included in: Whakatipu Highlights, Skippers Canyon. Queenstown’s legendary backcountry - dramatic canyon scenery, big viewpoints, and a real sense of remoteness. Expect photo stops and story-led guiding through gold-rush country, with landscapes you simply do not see on standard scenic routes. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights, Māori Mythology. Iconic Queenstown alpine backdrops and high-impact photo stops. These viewpoints deliver wide Whakatipu Basin views, big mountain scenery, and that classic “Queenstown postcard” feeling - with time to stop, shoot, and take it in. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights, Glenorchy & Paradise, Māori Mythology. Classic lake-and-mountain scenery with multiple lookout angles along the basin. These stops are all about clean photo lines, big views, and local context - from natural history to the stories and legends tied to Whakatipu. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Skippers Canyon. One of Queenstown’s most famous backcountry routes, shaped by the gold rush and carved into steep country. The drive is part of the experience - tight sections, rugged terrain, and viewpoint potential throughout, including the narrow rock cuttings known as Hell’s and Heaven’s Gates, paired with local history and storytelling.
Included in: Skippers Canyon. A standout historic landmark and a classic photo stop in the canyon. This area brings the gold-rush era to life and delivers iconic Skippers visuals - rugged rock, steep drops, and true backcountry character. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Skippers Canyon. Big river-and-canyon scenery tied directly to Queenstown’s gold-rush story. These stops deliver dramatic angles over the Shotover corridor, strong photo opportunities, and guiding-led context about early mining and settlement. Gold-mining relics and remains are often seen along this corridor as part of the Skippers story - perfect for adding tangible heritage without turning it into a separate “stop”. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights. A heritage gold-rush town with real character - historic streets, river history, and a quick wander option that adds depth beyond the viewpoints. Often chosen as an alternative to Moke Lake within Whakatipu Highlights. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights. A quiet, photogenic lake setting that feels a world away from town. Expect calm water, mountain reflections, and short scenic stops that suit photography and a slower pace. Often chosen as an alternative to Arrowtown within Whakatipu Highlights. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise. A spectacular lakeside gateway to cinematic landscapes. Glenorchy delivers wide valley views, big mountain backdrops, and a relaxed pace with plenty of photo stops - scenery-forward and naturally beautiful. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise. A famous scenic region beyond Glenorchy, known for open valleys, rugged peaks, and a strong “middle-of-nowhere” feel. A great option for big landscapes, relaxed touring, and photo stops in iconic natural settings. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise Braided river landscapes framed by dramatic peaks - one of the reasons this area feels so cinematic. Expect wide-open scenery, strong photography potential, and a different look and feel from the Whakatipu Basin viewpoints. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Skippers Canyon. A key location within the Skippers backcountry experience, combining striking canyon scenery with local history. It is a strong stop for photos and guiding-led storytelling, adding depth to the route beyond the views alone. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights. Best known for the Lord of the Rings film connection on the Ford of Bruinen river scene. A fun “recognise it” moment for film fans that pairs naturally with Arrowtown and the wider Whakatipu Basin scenery. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Whakatipu Highlights. A small Arrowtown location used for the Gladden Fields scenes. It is a simple, easy stop that adds a fun Middle-earth connection to a Whakatipu Highlights tour - especially when your group wants a film moment alongside the scenery. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise. Natural beech forest on the road to Paradise, used as Lothlorien in The Lord of the Rings. A high-impact stop for atmosphere and photos - quiet, cinematic, and a perfect match for the scenery-forward Glenorchy & Paradise option. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise. A classic Middle-earth landscape location in the Glenorchy area, used for Isengard scenes. Expect big valley views and a strong sense of scale - an easy way to blend iconic scenery with a confirmed film connection on the Glenorchy route. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
Included in: Glenorchy & Paradise. From Glenorchy, you can look towards the north-western slopes of Mount Earnslaw, featured in the opening sequence of The Two Towers. A simple viewpoint moment with big peak backdrops - ideal for film fans and photographers alike. Stopping time varies depending on the itinerary and your interests on the day.
This is the second adventure with this company. The first was with Locky and the second with Sam. What can I say! Miharo! A genuine kiwi experience - exciting, funny, informative, magnificent, wild and fun! Flash Pavk recommends this tour 100 percent. Ngā mihi ki runga i te hā o te Te Rakaihautū, ko Tahuna te Whenua - te hei Mauri Ora Paora
Sam our guide & driver was knowledgeable and a great driver!
My husband and I went on the off road adventure on a very windy day in February on a side trip from our main tour. It was a fun, unique experience with a great guide, Finch. He was a great driver, knowledgeable, and very entertaining. It was nice to get out by boat from so much activity in Queenstown and enjoy the adventure, landscape, and great snacks with New Zealand wine!
Guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the filming of Lord of the rings and provided a great overview of the scenes while visiting the actual sites. We enjoyed the spectacular views and had an enjoyable afternoon.
First trip to Queenstown and we booked this trip with 2 x 9 year olds and one 12 year old (& 2 adults). We all rated it best thing we did across the week. Peter was a terrific tour guide, giving us excellent & informative Lord of the Rings insights. Was cool to see the LOTR scene playing on the car iPad and then look up & there was the actual location. The excited screaming and squealing from the kids during the 4 wheel driving down the river near Arrowtown probably sent poor Peter deaf but he happily obliged to give us a few extra spins around the steeper parts of the river that sent the kids wild with happiness ! The free 40 minutes in Arrowtown was a good intro to the town and inspired us to go back later on to take a closer look. All up a really worthwhile tour highly recommended.
This tour was a great way to see the areas surrounding Queenstown, with an added bit of adrenaline, hearing both the history of the area, as well as the different locations for some pretty awesome scenes from Lord Of The Rings. Our guide, Pete, had some good film industry experience, and was able to share some cool insights into the making of the films. Bring bug spray if it has rained recently.
We had a fantastic day with Matt. He was very knowledgeable on the area and we had fun going through the rivers in the 4x4. We would highly recommend the tour!
You must know more about queenstown and I'm sure this one of the best ways. It's really amazing track road and be prepare to see a paradise! Look for Ross, he is Nice guy who can show you everything! Good luck and have Nice trip!
We had a great time with Matt showing us iconic filming locations for LOTR and scenic Queenstown. Driving off road and through the river were lots of fun. Matt is very personable and accommodating. I would definitely recommend him doing your tour!
Ross was great. Had an awesome time looking around and learning about the Queenstown area. 6 year old had a ball
Our driver Matt was fantastic! We did the LOTR tour and in addition to visiting filming sites, where Matt showed us clips to orient us to how the scenes were actually filmed, we also learned a lot about local history, the gold rush, the geography of the entire region, and flora and fauna. He had so many fun facts and stories. And he drove the 4x4 IN the Arrow river, which was incredible! Great way to experience this region. Would highly recommend. Unfortunately Skipper's Canyon was closed, which was a bummer because we were really looking forward to seeing it, but Matt still made the afternoon memorable and exciting.
We had a tour with Pete who was a very knowledgeable guide who gave us an excellent commentary as we explored Skippers Canyon, Arrowtown & elsewhere. No hesitation in recommending this tour, which took us off the beaten track.
My partner and I were lucky enough to do a private tour with Ross and it was fantastic we didn't want it to end. Ross's knowledge was second to none and the scenery was just fabulous. Ross even showed us how to pan for gold. We got some great pictures and couldn't of been happier with how the day went. Highly recommend this half day tour to anyone. Ross is an absolute legend!
Did a full day private tour that included Glenorchy and Skippers Canyon / Arrowtown. Fantastic off-roading experiences combined with stop offs at a myriad of LOTR filming locations. Driver Pete imparted a wealth of information about NZ natural history and the LOTR film shoots. Thoroughly recommended.
Awesome trip exploring the basin w Matt, knowledgeable and good fun, ask for him when ya lock this trip in
My wife and I took a Lord of the Rings half day tour. While I am a Lord of the Rings fan, it was much more than a tour of the films sites. We drove up onto the Remarkable Mts. and had a fantastic view. We then went to a winery on narrow roads with steep drop-offs into a gorge to see more gorgeous scenery and another film site. We pulled off on a high promontory and had a great lunch that include hot chocolate and a really thick and meaty sandwich. Next was Arrowtown and droving through a river repeatedly, including an extra time so we could take a video as we splashed along. Our driver, Pete, was not only knowledgeable, but also did everything he could to make our trip enjoyable. Can't say enough about him! The highlight for me was the drive toward Skipper Canyon when we went on the 7th most dangerous road in the world. Very narrow road with drop-offs that were amazing. We passed through Hell's Gate and Heaven's Gate and viewed a rock formation at the end before turning around. On the way back we stopped for a picture of a perfect full moon over the mountains. Overall, a fantastic experience. I highly recommend it. Thanks Pete!
Outstanding afternoon spent with Ross. My son (17) and I loved it!! Lord of the Rings scenery complete with iPad to watch the relevant scenes on (pretty cool). Sketchy roads driven super confidently by Ross, driving in water, bit of gold panning, magnificent scenery, heaps of interesting information. Would recommend to anyone!!
We saw some set locations next to iPad movie scenes. We got a nice overview of area from many directions. Also after 4 wheeling down the river bed we stopped and learned how to pan for gold. Our guide Ross made the trip worthwhile. Insist on him.
We have been on the tour with Pete who was very knowageble on the history of the area, LOTR film locations and other stuff that make this tour amazing . Pete has patience to answer our questions and took us to several view point location where we took amazing photos so we had a good time. This tour also includes picnic lunch and hot drinks. We will sure book another tour from offroad 4x4 next time we will visit Queenstown .
This was a great tour. As a solo traveller they were very accommodating to make sure they could find room for me. Tour guide Pete was full of great knowledge and not just about lord of the rings. I learnt so much and became the mini tour guide for the rest of my friends who did not go on the tour. Definitely worth doing. One of the highlights of my trip
A truely amazing experience with our knowledgeable and all round great guy Pete. A must do if in Queenstown.
What a great 4hrs trip. Peter our guide was a wealth of knowledge of both the film(s) and of local queenstown and the surrounding area and history. The trip was a standout, mixing history, film sets, sites, history and a fantastic stop over at a cellar door to sample and take some great wines home. Highly recommended.
The trip was awesome. We saw scenes in real life from the lord of the rings that I can remember watching as a kid. Our tour guides Ryan and Matt where fun and great tour guides. The trip was four hours and at no point did I get bored. We went panning for gold and I found a little bit that is now a good luck charm. This is a great tour that I would highly recommend.
We booked this tour last minute as our Milford Sound Flight was cancelled that day and this was recommended by our hotel. It really didn't disappoint! We were the only two people on a tour with Pete and he tailored the tour to what we wanted [a mix of Lord of the Rings and history of the surrounding area]. The day we did it was pretty cloudy but the views were still fantastic and we had a great time. The iPad showing the scenes of Lord of the Rings is also really helpful when visualizing where you are. The chicken salad sandwich for lunch was also delicious!
Fantastic afternoon! Spectacular scenery, Lord of the Rings production commentary, plenty of off-roading, lunch on the bank of the Arrow River, and an awesome guide. If you get Matt Bennell, you won’t be disappointed! Highly recommend!
The off road trip was amazing the driver Pete was super funny. He also has a good American accent.But going through the river crossings was super fun. All of the trips up the mountains was fun because I could "airbend" in the mountains.🤣 But altogether the day was unforgettable it was fun with a lot of beautiful sites . Also learning about the Lord of the Rings was fun because some sites were very beautiful . -Mimi(The weird random teenage girl😂)
What a wonderful day. The views were breathtaking and Ross was both engaging and very attuned to all of our needs. The added bonus of viewing scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies at the actual location where the scenes were shot was very exciting!
The tour was really interesting and Pete, our guide, was just awesome. He had a lot of film insights, since he used to be in the business, he took great fotos of us and was really great company. The places we went to where beautiful, we just loved everything about the tour. Highly recommended!!
Fantastic day spent with Ross exploring the beautiful scenery of the Wakatipu basin. Exciting to see the movie clips from the Lord of the Rings trilogy whilst sitting in the exact location they were filmed! Thank you for a wonderful experience!
My sister Amanda and I went to New Zealand to visit our friend Kelsi for Spring Break, and this was one of everyone's favorites. We didn't book until the day before we wanted to do the tour because we were in Timaru originally. We had an entire tour to ourselves (just luck of the draw), but Ross was the best tour guide we've ever had. He was super friendly, easy to chat with, customer service oriented, very professional and knowledgeable, he even took great pictures of us as a group; it was amazing! He showed us how to pan for gold in one of the rivers the movie was filmed in and there were movie clips on the iPad in the vehicle to show us which clips were shot where (the other LOTR tour group only had pictures so this was awesome). It was incredible and I'd strongly recommend this to anyone who wants to see beautiful scenery, whether you've seen LOTR or not!
This was a spur of the moment decision after we had arrived in Queenstown. After reviewing the other tours on offer we felt this delivered the best value and opportunities to see the most Lord of the Rings locations. It was very easy to meet the tour at the shop in central Queenstown. Our tour guide, Pete, was very friendly and extremely knowledgable of not only the local area but also with matching up footage of the films with the locations as we came to them. Then a off road excursion up the arrow river was certainly a highlight and a first for us. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would definitely recommend it, along with our tour guide.
<p>Great way to see Lord of the Rings filming sites ... had a wonderful and informative day with a friendly guide</p>
We booked this tour online months before our visit and it didnt disappoint! Our tour guide, Ross, was so friendly and knowledgable of all the locations and even showed us footage of the LOTR scenes as we visited them. Gold prospecting was a fun experience too! We loved this tour and would definitely recommend it!
Our trip to Milford sound was cancelled so we booked this instead. Had a good time driving to the various LOTR locations and learning about local history. Only two of us with the guide so we got a very personalized tour!
<p>The tour was excellent. The tour guide David was super nice, well informed and highly personable.</p>
An excellent half day tour, lots of LOTR locations, great scenery. Ross was a friendly guy with lots of knowledge. Great fun gold panning, nice food, Was a highlight of trip to NZ
My partner and I decided last minute to switch from a jet boat tour to this and I am so glad we did. We are both fans of the film but you don't need to be. We had so much fun being driven in and out of the Arrow river by Martyn and I swear I still had a smile on my face even when I thought The Red Baron was going to tip over. 😀 (it didn't of course) Going down into Skippers Canyon was just jaw dropping. Let's just say it is not for the faint hearted. Thanks Martyn for a fantastic morning adventure.
An excellent half day tour of the region that also included some 4x4 and quite a few locations that were used in the LOTR trilogy. Stopping to pan for gold near Arrowtown was a big hit with the kids (aged 9 and 11). Our guide Ross was very knowledgeable about the region and LOTR trivia. They show you clips of the movie on an ipad when you are at the locations where they were filmed which is awesome. Ross' knowledge of gold panning also allowed us to find a few specks of gold in the river. Ross is 100% suited to his job and we would highly recommend this tour. Thanks Ross for an awesome trip.
Great day and have had stunning view ever, guide Ross is so nice , he was very kindly and warmly, also very thoughtful , best day in NZ 👍
Wir hatten einen fantastischen Ausflug. Unser Guide Pete war sehr entspannt und hatte interessante Geschichten zu erzählen. Die Landschaft war traumhaft. Wir hatten sehr viel Glück und waren nur in einer kleinen Gruppe unterwegs, weshalb Pete auf all unsere Wünsche/ Vorlieben einging. Nur zu empfehlen. We had a fantastic trip. Our guide Pete was very relaxed and hat interesting stories to tell. The landscape was beautiful. We were very lucky as we were a very Smalltalk group, so Pete fulfilled all our desires/ preferences. We would highly recommend it.
Nous avons effectué 2 tours (glenorchy et wakatipu ) avec Pete et Ross. On découvre en petit groupe ce qui est très appréciable ! Les 4x4 sont confortables et les déjeuners étaient très bien. Les 2 guides connaissaient très bien leur région et nous ont fait découvrir des coins que nous n'aurions pas trouvé seuls. Alors merci !
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