“On a Mish” #106 Transported to Middle Earth (Part Two). Mt Sunday(611m). Hakatere Conservation Park. 18.7.2017. The specially selected sites for the filming of Lord of the Rings have become drawcards for fans of the films. Aotearoa New Zealand was the perfect backdrop to the epic trilogy, and having the chance to see where the movie was made has bumped up tourism in the small country in the South Pacific. I wanted to show my Whanau, mostly my niece (1) and nephew (6), the area I had spent so much time in (both as a young fella and nowadays as an old fella) with the hope that by being transported to Middle Earth will get them hooked on the outdoors like their old uncle…
After a stop for some photos at the famous viewpoint of the Rangitata, we continued to the car park at the start of the track up Mt Sunday. Because the track is on the north side of the valley, it is in the shade for most of the morning we had a rather chilly start. The kids (adults included) enjoyed the simple pleasure of smashing the ice in the frozen puddles on the track as we all made our way towards our goal of Mt Sunday(611m). Breaking the ice never gets old!
By the time we got to the base of the small mound that is Mt Sunday / Rohan, the sun was out and Beffie was also out for the count asleep in the baby-carrying-backpack! We were all getting treated to a perfect day in the Rangitata Valley with barely a breath of wind in the air.
At only six years old Benji powered his way up the mountain like a champ and the rest of the Whanau played follow-the-leader followed on. Once the team reassembled, we enjoyed a snack on the summit in the sun while we did our best to take in the epicness that surrounded us.
Our adventure really showed us why so many people from all over the world make the effort to get to this remote little mountain. From Christchurch it is only two hours’ drive to the start of the track, and it isn’t a very demanding hike (slow and steady is key). So, I would recommend this track to people with little ones who want to get an epic mountain experience with an easy walk everyone can enjoy. A Sunday drive to Mt Sunday(711m) for a Sunday stroll, maybe something you do next Sunday!
