Lord of the Rings at Deer Park, Queenstown

Finally, for the fans of Lord of The Rings (LOTR), here is a photo for you. Though having watched two of the movies, I have to admit I am no fan of the trilogy movies. However, I am a keen fan (read as fanatic) of New Zealand.

When I went up to Deer Park, it was not my intention to see the spots where the movie was filmed. My guide explained and pointed out some of the LOTR stuff but they simply didn’t register in my head! I was not paying attention and neither did I take any photos of the LOTR stuff. Instead of “Wow, LOTR!”, I was in my own fanatic world and my eyes were “Wow, Queenstown!”.

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The Remarkables
Deer Park, Queenstown, Aug 2006
The above mountain range is known as The Remarkables. In The Two Towers, the scene of the Rohan refugees making their way round a pool of water was filmed at this spot with The Remarkables in the background.

The view from Deer Park is so breathtaking! Someday when you are in Queenstown, do remember to visit Deer Park to experience it for yourself; to see as far as you could see, to feel the cool breeze and to enjoy the warmth of the sun on both East & West Summit.

Your visit to Deer Park would not be complete without seeing this beautiful animal at close range:

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Deer Park, Queenstown, Aug 2006

The Animals at Deer Park, Queenstown

In an earlier posting, I mentioned about bringing extra $1 coins to Deer Park, Queenstown but did not elaborate about this matter. The $1 coins are for the purchase of “sheep nuts” and $1 gets a full tin of this stuff. So what do you do with the “nuts”? Aha, that’s when your fun on Deer Park starts!

My guide called this stuff “sheep nuts”. They are actually small bits of dried food pellets. For sheep? One of the surprises at Deer Park is that besides the deer, you get to see a whole lot of other animals too. There are miniature horses, ducks, pigs, sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas …… even highland cattle and the North American bison. Calling it “The Animal Farm” would have been more appropriate!

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Ducks, miniature horses and ugly pigs!
“The Animal Farm”
Deer Park, Queenstown, Aug 2006

These animals roam freely on Deer Park but some are kept within fenced enclosures. To get the animals to come to you, all you have to do is shake the tin of food pellets to make a rattling sound. One of my memorable encounters was with the goats and llamas. Shook the tin and I found myself surrounded by a couple of excited llamas and goats! As the llamas are almost as tall as a man, it was a challenge trying to keep the tin out of their reach. After being jostled by a couple of them, I started to smell like them too! Haha... Unlike llamas, the alpacas are nice, gentle and well mannered.

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Excited llamas and goats!
Deer Park, Queenstown, Aug 2006

Feeding the animals, having them slopped saliva on your palms, you will inevitably have a good collection of exotic saliva ...... so do expect to get dirty and smell like one of the animals on your trip!

To see Pavlov theory in action, shaking a tin in Deer Park will give you a good first hand experience of frenzied salivating animals around you!

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Young Kids 1-2 weeks old	Himalayan Tarn (beautiful long hair)
North American Bison (small horns, big nose)	Highland Cattle (big horns, big nose)