ERETZ images

Poolburn

Lord of the Rings Country, Central Otago, New Zealand

This collection of 56 images portrays the Poolburn lake and its surrounding terrain in a mountain range of the Maniototo region of Central Otago in the lower part of the South Island of New Zealand.

The images were taken in two visits in Winter 2005. Poolburn was chosen by New Zealand film director Peter Jackson for the filming of an important sequence of his trilogy, Lord of the Rings. His project involved the building of an ancient village called Rohan on the shores of Poolburn lake. Remains of the village, which was demolished straight after the filming, are to be seen in images 39, 40 and 44 of this collection.

The special geographic feature of Poolburn, in common with much other Central Otago terrain, is the presence of the strikingly foliated sandstone-quartz stone called schist. Large and sometimes huge monoliths of this remarkably sculptural rock are found all over the landscape which is otherwise mainly tussock-grass which provides grazing for cattle and New Zealand's famous merino sheep. The natural schist monuments around Poolburn lake provide a mystical and dramatic scenery which has fascinated artists and photographers for over 100 years.

The images presented here show much of the fascination that a visit to Poolburn arouses amongst visitors from all over the world, many of them on tours of Lord of the Rings movie-shooting locations which are to be found the length and breadth of New Zealand. On experiencing the remarkable landscape of Poolburn it is easy to understand how Peter Jackson interpreted it cinematographically to invoke part of the Middle Earth of Tolkien's land of his famous novels included in Lord of the Rings.

The photographs for this collection were made at a time when Poolburn lake was partially frozen over which gives an eerie emphasis to the generally lonely and inhospitable ambience of this remarkable landscape. By contrast, in summer, Poolburn lake is a favourite resort for trout fishing, old huts for which are to be found dotted around the lakeside and occasionally in rocky reccesses on higher ground some distance from the shoreline.