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"It's the most uplifting place I've ever been, the most beautiful place I've ever seen". Bernard Hill (Theoden) is talking about our destination for today on one of the documentaries on the extended version of 'The Two Towers' DVD. Mount Sunday is a rocky outcrop, surrounded by the stunning Mount Potts, and was the location used for Edoras that so entranced all the cast and crew.
The day gets off to an unintentionally hilarious start around 7.30am when our coach is loading our cases up. Some American serviceman are sitting in a van when an elderly but strong lady who clearly hasn't got all her marbles spots them and charges over letting forth a stream of abuse about 'murderers of small babies', 'killers of millions in Afghanistan' that 'God will strike down with great vengeance'. It's like a bizarre reenactment from 'Pulp Fiction'. The lady is shouting a diatribe so loud she's making herself hoarse, and one of the receptionists is being incredibly patient in trying to handle her, worried about offending all the American guests assembled around us. She just rants away at him and the situation is so bizarre nobody can do anything but laugh. A female receptionist comes out to try and help. 'Get away from me you New Zealand lesbian. You should be ashamed of yourself. God will strike you down' comes the response. Eventually the woman is escorted away, but it's added a bit of excitement to the day.
		There is a lot of mickey-taking from the 'standard' hotel group who've had time to look around our hotel, and realised that their 'standard' accommodation for the previous night has been better than our 'superior' hotel accommodation, and much closer to the action, being situated right in the heart of Christchurch to boot. Personally I'm happy with our location, since Christchurch is far too much like a town back home, and the trips to the town centre by bus have introduced me to some new friends and helped me learn a bit more about New Zealand life. It takes us a couple of hours coach travel to reach our first rest stop where the scenery is starting to look like the Swiss Alps. There is much clicking of photo shutters before it's time to get back on the coach and head for our main destination: the Mount Potts Station that is close to Mount Sunday. It is extremely strange having the extended version of 'The Two Towers' movie playing on TVs inside the coach and showing 'Edoras' as the scenery outside the window shows the location for real. The tinted windows of the coach, with added reflections and a slight haze oddly make the crystal clear digital picture on the screen look more 'real', but that all changes when we disembark and get to experience the scenery with fresh air, the smell of lupins, a 3D panoramic breeze and glorious sunshine. We stop first at the Lodge a small building with outlying huts housing accommodation and toilet facilities. The Lodge is used as a ski resort in Winter and is only occasionally open over Summer, often host to Christmas parties and wedding receptions. The main bar is made out in Western style with some rather raucous chalk scribblings and a notice I wish appeared in more bars around the world: 'Unattended and unruly children will be arrested and sold as slaves'. There are two framed pictures of Mount Sunday as it was when the Rohan village of Edoras film sets are in place, but even without the sets the mountain is instantly recognisable. The mountain is on private land and one reason for joining a tour group like Red Carpet is that they have negotiated access to the mountain that would otherwise not be available. While the mountain looks impressive from a distance you really do need to climb to the top to get the full 360 degree experience. In our naivety we congratulate ourselves on the fact that we're visiting on the one clear blue sky no-wind day of the year. What we don't realise until we get down to the mountain is that actually it's in the middle of a valley that acts as a giant wind tunnel. Lord knows how they filmed! That being said, it's a pleasant experience because the wind is warm, and none of us have need for the waterproof 'warm' jackets we've been advised to bring. If only the water was as warm. When the movies were made temporary roads were put in, but these are now all gone. There is a rough track leading part way to the mountain, blocked by a heavily padlocked gate to keep the general public out, and it takes our tour guide Ben just moments to unlock the heavy chain using a key that Red Carpet have been given. Once out of the coach we have to cross three streams and then a steep, but not too difficult climb. Several of the ladies decide to just stay in the coach - probably a wise move for those overweight and unfit. The first stream does not have too strong a current and is relatively shallow, but the rocky bed is extremely slippery and the water is numbingly cold, leaving feet as cold as slabs of ice. Our guides have advised us to link hands, and a portly Chinese lady grabs onto me for support. With a set of hiking boots around my neck and a large heavy camera back hanging from my shoulder I wonder whether now would be a good time to explain that given the choice between saving a £5000 camera I've had for some time or a complete stranger I'm not sure the stranger would win. We make it across safely, but I'm glad I changed my mind about bringing a tripod as well, at the last minute. The second stream proves far more difficult, reaching up to knee level with a strong current, but we all seem to make it across eventually, without anyone falling in or losing their luggage. The climb to the top is exhillerating and the view is everything Bernard Hill has promised it will be. The coach we've left behind looks like a tiny little speck on the landscape and, aside from the wind, the only sound is that of camera shutters and cows mooing loudly (the hike to the mountain has involved playing 'avoid the cow pat' which seems to almost obliterate the surrounding ground. Oddly, fellow travellers start scouring the top of the mountain for remnants of the film set that is supposed to have been removed leaving no trace. A few find a few wood splinters or a rawl plug or a bit of wire, and are jubilant about their souvenirs. I find it all rather bizarre, but I guess there may even be a buyer for such junk on Ebay! Most just relax and take in the view, before Ben suggests a group photo at the end of the mountain where Theoden's great hall was originally situated, and a backdrop of a snowy-topped mountain, and I end up with a little clutch of cameras to take the shot with as well as my own.
We have been advised to bring a picnic lunch for today, and I've proved myself to be the newbie of the group by falling for the 'hotel packed lunch' trick that fellow travellers have already discovered is just a waste of money. NZ $15.50 gets me a single croissant with meat and cheese inside, a tiny cardboard carton of orange juice, three crisp crackers and some inedible cheese, and two small mints. Next time I'll use the local shops instead! After a 20 minute lunch break at the Potts lodge it's time to hit the road again - this time to head towards our hotel for the night at Twizel, a very small 'town': 'Blink and you'll miss it' says our tour guide, Ben. On the way we stop off at Geraldine, a small village that my American friends would instantly call 'quaint', containing small tourist shops selling cheese made on the premises, great ice cream and home-made jams. It's all very pretty and neat and civilised. As we head towards Twizel we pass two large lakes that are a beautiful blue colour but alas, by the time the coach stops for photo opportunities with Mount Cook in the background the sun has retired behind a dark cloud and the amazing scene we'd witnessed five minutes earlier is now dank and dingy looking by comparison. Not that we can really complain with the glorious weather we've had for the last two days. The Mackenzie Hotel is lavish, and the evening buffet is superb. For once 'standard' and 'superior' travellers are staying in the same hotel so there's no real wasted time sorting out people's luggage and waiting for one party to organise themselves before the next can move on. We have a very early start tomorrow - 6.30am coaches have to be packed with luggage before breakfast and a 7.30am departure. There is an opportunity to hire a bike and do a circuit of Twizel for an hour or two, but tour guide Ben finds he has no takers - most travellers retire to bed just after 9pm as it's been an exhausting day, and it's around 9pm that I wish I'd never started this whole damned 'web log' business, as I have a couple of hours work to do in getting this report ready (I'm trying not to think about the Ringers party report and Premiere day parade and red carpet reports that people keep emailing me about!). Thankfully there will be time to catch up on sleep in the coach, after we've made our first visit to 'The Pelennor Fields'. Back to Day 10 report Forward to Day 12 report Stay tuned for future reports (indicated by a photo appearing in the main Itinerary calendar)

Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk