We drove over to Wairarapa (Featherston, Martinborough and Carterton) to see the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) site at the Putangirua Pinnacles, where the Dimholt Road scenes (the Paths of the Dead) were shot. The clouds were low and we drove through them as we crossed the mountains from Upper Hutt to Featherston. The Wairarapa coast turned out to be fairly rugged. The hike to the Pinnacles themselves was 90 minutes (according to the signs), so we walked up the streambed for about 15 minutes. We could easily see the distinctive Dimholt stony landscape in the sides of the valley. We truly enjoyed the sunny vistas looking back at the ocean from the stream on our return trip.
We wanted to see Stonehenge Aotearoa, a modern New Zealand version of the ancient site in Britian. However, the site was closed due to a power outage, so we didn't get any pictures of it. We did find Kent Street in nearby Carteron before wending our way back to Lower Hutt. Another day in paradise!
