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Some of the most picturesque landscapes in the Lord of the Rings It will open to the public for the first time in 11 years.
Deer Park Heights, a working deer farm above Queenstown’s Kelvin Heights, has been featured in many Hollywood movies, including Glutton Y Pete’s Dragon.
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Several scenes from Lord of the Rings were filmed in Deer Park Heights, with its backdrop of the Los Remarkables mountain range.
An abandoned and closed film set remains on top of the farm, which was used as a North Korean prison in the Disney children’s film. The rescue in 1986.
However, Deer Park Heights is most famous for its use in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, particularly The two Towers.
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Scenes including refugees escaping from Rohan and the attack by the wargs were filmed on site, as well as Legolas jumping from his horse and Gimli being thrown from his.
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Visitors to Queenstown’s Deer Park Heights can expect views over Lake Wakatipu, as well as get up close to llamas and alpacas.
The 800-hectare estate first opened as a tourist attraction in 1966, allowing visitors to drive themselves.
For the past 11 years, the Mee family has closed it to the public, but continued to operate the running deer farm. That will continue when it reopens to the public on October 20.
Owner Mike Mee said he was eager to make it accessible to visitors once again because it is “a great place to go.”
Attractions include views over Lake Wakatipu and towards the nearby Los Remarkables mountain range, as well as red and fallow deer, goats, miniature horses, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and kunekune pigs.
It will operate an online reservation system for cars for up to seven people.
Buses, minivans, commercial vehicle trippers and cyclists are excluded from the toll.
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Miniature horses and donkeys at Deer Park Heights, a working farm in Queenstown, now open to visitors.
Visitors drive 5 km down the road to various viewpoints and stop to feed the animals when they see them.
The park is 4 km along Peninsula Rd from the Kelvin Heights turnoff in Queenstown, and the entrance is signposted.
