You get picked up around 8:30 AM and start going towards your destination immediately which takes about 3 hours with a stop at a cafe in between for about 30 minutes. Our tour guide (who’s name I can’t remember) was an awesome lady. She picked us up on a Monday morning and didn’t know where she was going in Christchurch and knew nothing about the place, which is fine, just something to note. She was very friendly and funny and had a lot of insightful stories. A lot of the stories consisted of another tour guides background in the lord of the rings films as peter jackson’s security. There was a lot of information you probably couldn’t get elsewhere which is very valuable to a hardcore fan. Looking out of the bus was lovely until the windows fogged up and dirt started sticking to them from the outside. I took a rag and wiped it at the cafe which is what I recommend doing. Once you actually arrive at Mount Sunday, the journey up the hill can be a tad difficult for unfit people but it was relatively easy for the payoff. The top of mount Sunday is absolutely breathtaking, and the guide even let us carry The Shards of Narsil up the hill. You stay up at the peak for about an hour, which could’ve been longer for me, and i’m not typically a person who likes to be at one spot for too long. There’s rocks to sit on, beautiful spots to take memorable pictures, and it’s a small group, so everyone chatted with each other at one point or another which was very pleasant. I noticed our tour guide talked to us all individually at least once she was very sweet and interested in what I had to say. When we walked back down, she served us lunch which were some very delicious sandwiches and even treated us to a glass of champagne while we were outside which was an absolute treat. I will warn you, it’s very easy to spill your champagne there so drink it first then eat. When we loaded up to go back home, she played the appendices of LOTR on a TV in the van with some easter eggs which was nice as it drew my attention more to the LOTR aspect of the trip. Ultimately, this trip is very worth if you’re a LOTR fan, just don’t get your hopes up for Helm’s Deep as it isn’t visible whatsoever whatever they tell you. You’ll feel accommodated and like you’re in a group of friends. Overall a great time and I came back with a happy stomach and lots of amazing memories.
