Artist's Message:

From Cape Reinga at the very top of the North Island, all the way down to Stewart Island, New Zealand is full of picturesque places, interesting towns, mountains, forests and rivers, which you will find on this Tolkien style map. As well as marking all of the mountains, trees, rivers, and the large cities like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. I've included many of the small towns you might come across when roaming about New Zealand. Some examples include: Oamaru, Piha, Thames, Hahei, Hanmer Springs and Paihia. I've also included Lake Taupo, the largest freshwater lake in Australasia, and White Island. In total, I‘ve spent around 70 hours producing this map, ensuring every detail, every little town, tree and mountaintop is represented in a Tolkien style. When making this map, I’ve also made sure to be respectful of Māori culture and heritage by representing some places with the correct Maori name such as “Aoraki” instead of “Mt Cook” in order to highlight the importance and sacredness of the mountain to Maori culture.

On the North Island, look for Mount Ruapehu, where Mordor scenes were filmed, Mount Ngauruhoe, Mount Taranaki and popular NZ tourist destinations including Waitomo Caves and the famous Hobbiton, which is marked on the map with Bilbo's hut.

On the South Island, you'll discover the Southern Alps, a massive mountain range running almost  the whole length of the South Island, which includes Mt Tasman, Mt Aspiring, and of course Aoraki/Mt Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ. In addition to the large cities like Christchurch and Dunedin, I've also included many iconic and interesting towns, like Queenstown, Arrowtown, Wanaka, Te Anau and Kaikoura, the stunning Milford Sound as well as some National parks, including Abel Tasman National Park and Fiordland National Park.