There's something about New Zealand and Middle-earth that makes sense.
LILLY: I loved shooting on location.
I thought it was the most rewarding part of the filming experience.
I love it. I love being outdoors.
I love being in these locations. I love being in New Zealand.
They've really discovered some insanely beautiful places to shoot at.
HADLOW: And here we were making a film...
...a New Zealand film, The Hobbit.
What a view.
Oh, no. We're not the first here.
So here we are at the Turoa ski field on the flanks of Mount Ruapehu.
We're on a volcanic plateau.
Past history tells us this is the second oldest national park in the world.
Filming on Mount Ruapehu was just incredible.
Right where this rock is, just imagine a huge foot either side...
...and a statue that rises up.
Everyone is searching for the secret entrance.
KIRCHER: This is a sacred place...
...and we were welcomed by the local Maori.
[CHANTING IN MAORI]
MAN: Welcome.
[SPEAKS MAORI]
KIRCHER: It kind of put us in our place...
...the whole team, actually, because it really was saying:
"We welcome you to come to this sacred place and make your film.
But we want you to be aware of how special it is we're letting you do this."
When we got there, it was drizzly. You know, a lot of rain.
Suddenly they gave their blessing, and literally...
...the clouds dispersed and we had a perfect day.
That was beautiful. That was a beautiful place. Very peaceful there.
It's one of those places, the sort of archetypal Kiwi places that you think:
"God, New Zealand has such amazing landscapes."
Strath Taieri was our first helicopter ride to the Rock and Pillar Range.
That's pretty much that distant ridgeline between those two rocks.
That's what they call the Rock and Pillars.
This job was my first time in a helicopter. I hadn't been in a helicopter before The Hobbit.
Well, we were just airlifted. It was like an airlift. We're going:
[MIMICS BEING LIFTED]
Away we went.
And that ridiculous, like, childlike experience for all of us.
BROWN: That was one of those moments...
...where you're just pinching yourself all the way in the helicopter, going:
"Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh."
Okay, this is officially the coolest day ever.
Yeah, that was incredible, being up there.
ARMITAGE: The Rock and Pillar, it just sounds monumental, and it is.
And, you know, the day we arrived, there's this kind of cloud formation...
...which lifts off of the mountain as the day kind of breaks.
HAMBLETON: It was like being on another planet there.
I mean, you know, you thought of the moon or some other weird planet...
...because the rocks and the...
Just the shape of them and the strata of them were very unusual.
There's one huge cliff face that we get to where we're looking out...
...and all you can see is just desolation. It's just flatland.
You know, from up there, it's an amazing location.
BILBO: What is this place?
We shot in one place called Paradise.
Ridiculous. Ridiculous.
If somewhere's gonna be called Paradise, it better deliver.
And it did. It was beautiful.
[WHINNYING]
The most beautiful, idyllic spot...
...around the lake there from Queenstown and inland.
PERSBRANT: It's the location of Beorn's house.
It was one of the most magnificent sets I've ever seen.
How can it fail, with us in the foreground? Ha-ha-ha.
WOMAN: And action.
Where we shot, you can look right through the valley, see a mountain range with snow on it.
And it was unbelievably picturesque.
So it's got a classic fairy tale storybook feel to the environment.
It's like a shot on a biscuit tin.
Actually doesn't feel real.
And all day long, if you're not working, you're out in the sunshine...
...looking at this amazing scenery, which you'll eventually see on-screen in the film.
We were in this most extraordinary river called the Pelorus.
Oh, beautiful.
- Quite nice to be right here. - Yeah.
That's where we shot the river scene with the Dwarves coming down in their barrels.
HUNTER: It was just the coolest.
And I think on several occasions, it was the cause of:
"I can't believe we're getting paid for this."
MCTAVISH: Like sort of a Dwarf holiday camp.
It's great, really. Like Outward Bound for small people.
JACKSON: I came down here when I was about 6 or 7 years old with my parents...
...as a lover of Ray Harryhausen movies, and I remember standing over there thinking:
"Wow, this would be an amazing place to have monsters and--"
And already my imagination was kind of...
...thinking about the sort of things you could do here.
[ALL SHOUTING]
That was fantastic and I highly recommend it.
Oh, yeah.
And then we shot my scene. We were working in a sort of canyon.
And there was a river at the bottom which was just extraordinary.
LILLY: They found this beautiful river, and it had a lot...
...of sort of brown and gold and orangey sediment...
...that made it look otherworldly.
Actually I believe it might be near the sight of a bungee jump.
But then what isn't in New Zealand? Ha-ha-ha.
O'GORMAN: When you come to visit New Zealand...
...you almost have to say "New Zealand is beautiful" sometimes...
...but it really is unbelievably beautiful.
FREEMAN: You'd see mountains that you'd think if you saw one in England, you'd go:
"Look at that mountain. Look at that. Isn't that beautiful?"
In the South Island, it's everywhere.
No one's gonna believe this is real. That's what's so ridiculous.
I mean, it's so breathtaking.
FREEMAN: You can use that as an advert for New Zealand if you want.
I mean, succinct, snappy, all positive.
And cut. Brilliant, trademarked.