Edoras & Rohan - Erehwon and the Mt. Somers area

The Edoras location has been described as particularly "remote" - and remote it is! Although not too far from Christchurch, the main city on the New Zealand South Island, the site can only be reached over approximately 30 km of very bad unsealed road - the kind of road where 30 km/h feels like irresponsible speeding! It is not a road that should be attempted in a rickety car, or by an inexperienced driver - and you better not tell your car hire company what you've been up to, either!

However, the trip is certainly worth taking - it takes you far from the beaten tourist tracks, into the very heart of the South Island and through one of the most stunning and impressive landscapes imaginable - almost completely void of any trace of human habitation.

If you plan to spend the night, you'll need to bring your own provisions - there is only a small settlement at Lake Clearwater, which seems to be only inhabited during the summer months, and no shop that I could see. There is a very rudimentary DOC campsite at Lake Camp (consisting of not much more than a dunny) - and another campsite marked on the map at Erehwon does not actually exit - and in any case, the road gets even worse once past the Edoras site, so unless you have the a four wheel drive available, it is highly recommended to not go beyond the Edoras location.

Of course it is possible to reach the site in a day trip from Methven or Mt. Somers - bear in mind, however, that you will need about an hour and a half each way to tackle the bit of unsealed road! So it is probably a good idea to start fairly early in the morning.