We made it into Twizel in the late afternoon and started looking for a room. Now this was the fourth time that we have been through Twizel (we like it there) and never had any problem finding accommodations. But this time everywhere we went there were "No Vacancy" signs. We even drove way out of town to the holiday park that we had stayed at on our previous trip. No luck, but I did find out the problem.
Now if you're any fan of The Lord of the Rings at all, and not a cave troll (in which case it would be understandable) you know that Peter Jackson is at it again making The Hobbit in two parts. As it turns out, the production company was in the process of filming on the east side of Lake Pukaki and the town was "chock-a-block" with hobbits. Though the celebrities were staying at (dum, dum, dum...) The Hermitage.
We did manage to find probably the last room in town and grabbed it.
Needless to say, LOTR thrust EnZed into the world spotlight. Talking to a tourism individual, ten years later half of the tourists still cite LOTR as one of the main reasons for visiting. Sadly, we've noticed some big changes here just since our last visit in 2008. 24 hour groceries, youth mesmerized by smart phones in the smallest of villages (I found one in the restroom with his plugged in to the wall while texting), multiple TV channels with non-stop advertising; all the comforts of all the ruined and overpopulated "societies" around the globe. The tourists want it, the tourists get it.
Going back to the oblivious cave trolls, when the Hobbit was just getting on its feet, the whole thing was nearly scuttled by the industry guilds who, based on the amazing success of the LOTR, found this an ideal opportunity to hold the producers hostage for unreasonable amounts of money. There were serious threats to take the project elsewhere for filming. The two sides seemed at loggerheads. Enter the Prime Minister.
Through a series of negotiations and payoffs, parliamentary actions and law changes, filming of the movies was assured for New Zealand. It's such a big deal that during the lead up to the recent elections John Key mentioned his role in this several times as a campaign stratagem.
Part of the deal even includes Tourism blurbs on the DVDs. The Last Best Place's days are numbered.
The next morning we headed out of Twizel direct QT with the smug knowledge that we had been surrounded by Hobbit Helpers.
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