Queenstown Lord of the Rings location opens to public in Kelvin Heights

Film fans: Access to Deer Park Heights was closed to the public in 2009. Photo / Chris Coad, File

Some of New Zealand's most spectacular and film-famous backdrops will open again to the public, after 11 years.

The location which appeared in the Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers became a pilgrimage site for movie fans until 2009, when the current owners closed it to the public.

Deer Park Heights on the road to the Remarkables has appeared in plenty of films including the 1986 Disney movie The Rescue. The remains of an abandoned film set depicting a North Korean prison stood on top of the hill for years.

This Hollywood white elephant was partly responsible for laws that meant that Peter Jackson's film sets were all cleared from the landscape, and almost meant that the Hobbiton film set didn't happen.

White Elephant: The Korean Prison which stood over Queenstown has finally been demolished. Photo / File

While you won't find any trace of the Lord of the Rings films, but that didn't stop it becoming a stop off for movie fans which quickly swamped the area.

The private road was closed to public by the Mee family, who run a deer farm on the site.
Ten years later the blockbuster views over Queenstown and Wakatipu are open again, albeit for a fee.

Park access codes can be bought via the park's website for $55 per vehicle. For this cost visitors can self-drive around the park, during daylight hours.

"We've been trying to get it open for two years," Mr Mee told the Otago Daily Times.
"It's such an amazing location and it seems a shame to not share it."

While you won't find any "Wargs" or Tolkien monsters, there are miniature horses, Kunekune pigs and alpaca to spot on the lakeside safari.

Deer Park Heights opens to public on 20 October. For more information deerparkheights.co.nz

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