One does not simply walk into Mordor– that is, unless they fancy a hike through Tongariro National Park. When Peter Jackson began to film his film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he chose New Zealand as the land where Middle Earth would come to life. And who could blame him? The island’s lush forests, rolling plains, comfy meadows, and towering mountains make it the perfect analogue for the world of Tolkien’s imagination. Hobbiton came alive in Matamata, Edoras on Mount Sunday, and Paths of the Dead in Putangirua Pinnacles.
New Zealand takes pride in its role in these renowned films, and the tourism industry especially embraces it. The official government website and dozens of other companies are happy to show you every location from Isengard to Rivendell. However, it is not all Shire salts and second breakfasts, as the Middle Earth assumptions are not without their dangers. Every hero and major character in the films was white, completely censoring the native Maori population from the movies’ aesthetic. And while Tolkien was clearly not a fan of industrialization, New Zealand is an industrialized nation with strong infrastructure. Unlike the medieval feudal world of Middle Earth, nearly one third of the nation’s total population lives within Auckland’s city limits.
While The Lord of the Rings is a compliment to the natural beauty of New Zealand, essentializing a modern nation as a land of fantasy is disrespectful to its inhabitants, especially when the diversity of their population is misrepresented by that ideal. New Zealand is a real country populated by real people who live lives without spells, elves, or rings of power, and want to be viewed as such. Nevertheless they can still get caught up in the same wonder and joy that Tolkien and Jackson brought us all with their work.
Hiking Boots And New Routes 
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