Mt. Sunday isn’t a mountain that will instantly pop into many people’s minds as a famous mountain in New Zealand. And it isn’t much of a mountain anyways, it’s more of a hill. But it became a very identifiable spot due to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and one that, with some effort and driving, can be appreciated without a tour. That’s where I found myself one spending mid-day in January. The drive itself was worth the effort.

As mentioned in my last post, the glacier valleys are simply spectacular to be in. They are immense.

Mt. Sunday itself isn’t too special to look at, but combined with the surroundings and having a small hill pop up in the middle of a huge glacier valley is pretty cool.

 Then you add in the fact that it played a fairly prominent role in Lord of the Rings, and a very recognizable one as Edoras, and you have a day well spent.

This was one of the few Lord of the Ring spots I actually have bothered to see. Most, you’d need pictures or someone telling you what you were looking at, and I’m not a big enough fan to bother. CGI was used quite heavily in a lot of areas, or large sets temporarily built. True, the backdrops of New Zealand are there and stellar, but for the most part, it is a stretch to see much from the movies. Mt. Sunday though, it is instantly recognizable.

I loved how the clouds misted over the far mountains. It was also incredibly windy.

And a few parting shots. Very enjoyable day.