The hole in the ozone layer that has threatened South Island for decades has stated to close, but the danger is not over yet. While the human-produced chemicals that weakened the ozone layer have been banned or heavily restricted, it will take many years for the damage to be entirely reversed.
When it came to these intensely green, mist-shrouded Middle-earth landscapes, the Lord of the Rings movies did not need stage sets or computer animation: Director Peter Jackson simply shot the films in New Zealand. The South Island’s Fiordlands are perfect examples of that primeval Lord of the Rings look, with plunging waterfalls, pristine lakes, virgin forest and steep peaks surrounding deep-gouged fiords.
The quintessential Fiordlands experience is reserved for hikers, who can study the striations of its glacially carved rocks, discover delicate alpine wildflowers and mossy hollows, and feel the waterfall’s spray on their skin.
