Exploring Glenorchy and looking for Lord of the Ring’s Isengard.

20 March 2025  

The journey from Queenstown to Glenorchy is one of the most scenic drives in the world but the town of Glenorchy is a nice attraction in its own right. Glenorchy is a small and quiet town, with just a couple of streets, located on the northern shore of Lake Wakatipu.

We arrived at Glenorchy in the early afternoon and went to the most scenic spot in town. This is none other than the iconic red shed located at the entry point to the Glenorchy pier.

Glenorchy Wharf Shed and Pier

Iconic red shed in Glencorchy.

It is worthwhile to go into the shed to read about the history of the town and how the people of Glenorchy used the shed to store and sort the goods that arrived on lake steamers back in the old days.

The railway trolley could be seen on the side of the shed.

The red shed is known as the Wharf Shed by the locals. Before the road to Glenorchy was built, lake steamers carried goods from Queenstown to Glenorchy. The steamers were owned by the NZ Railway Department and Glenorchy is listed as a railway station. It was interesting to read that there were rails from the end of the wharf to the shed. These were used to move goods from the steamers to the shed and technically were the shortest length of railway laid in NZ.

Interesting bit of history to read.

A walk down the historic jetty is a good way to appreciate the beautiful mountain views around Glenorchy.

The walk on the wharf is very nice and is a great place for photos.

     Crystal clear water of Lake Wakatipu. 

 

 

From the wharf, we took a walk on the “beach” before heading towards the start of the Glenorchy Walkway which leads to the Glenorchy Lagoon. 

Wanaka has the famous Wanaka Tree and Glenorchy has its own signature Glenorchy Trees. 

Glenorchy Trees is a picturesque row of trees submerged in the water. 

Lone tree on the Glenorchy Beach. 

Glenorchy Beach.

There are locals fishing on the shore of the lake.

Glenorchy Lagoon Walk

Information on the Glenorchy Lagoon Walk. Spot the error on the signboard.

The Glenorchy Lagoon Walk is a flat and easy walk, and should take under an hour to complete. We walked a short stretch and then decided to skip the rest of the trail and go for a coffee break. The weather was too hot and we wanted some time to drive to the Isengard Viewpoint.

View of the landscape along the Glenorchy Lagoon Walk.

Mrs Woolly’s General Store.

The best place for coffee and snacks is at Mrs Woolly’s General Store.

We parked our car right next to the signboard.

This quaint store is located in the middle of the town and offers unique and handmade NZ souvenirs, plus groceries, pies, coffee and gelato.

Mrs Woolly’s General Store.

The store is known for their delicious meat pies. The pies were so popular that all were sold out, except for the last salmon pie that we bought.

Salmon pie with flaky crust and chunky pieces of salmon.

Interior of Mrs Woolly’s General Store.

Book exchange service outside the store.

Isengard Viewpoint

Being in Glenorchy offered an opportunity to visit one of the filming locations of the Lord of the Rings movie. The Dart River Valley and its surrounding mountains served as the backdrop for the approach to the movie’s Isengard and other scenes.

The Isengard Viewpoint on Kinloch-Glenorchy Road provides a stunning view of the area and was used for filming the Isengard location. The viewpoint, as marked on Google Map here, is only 15 minutes past Glenorchy and was definitely worth the drive for the amazing views. 

There is a parking area before the bridge on the left side. We walked to the bank of the river, go under the bridge and over to the edge of the Dart River.

View of the bridge at Isengard Lookout. 

The Dart River is a very shallow and broad and the banks are filled with gravel. Walking on the river bank was easy at this time of year. We even saw some tracks of vehicles that had driven on it.

This is the place to look at the Isengard viewpoint after crossing under the bridge.

We met a few other groups of Lord of the Rings fans here, all enjoying the views and also trying to pinpoint the location of Isengard. It is good to have a picture of Isengard from the Lord of the Rings movie to compare with the landscape at this location.

This is the location where Isengard is supposed to be. With CGI added, of course.

The entire place was very peaceful and scenic.

While enjoying the views, we spotted a jet-boat heading towards us. This brought back memories from my previous trip to NZ where we took this same tour from Dart River Safari.

Specially designed jet propelled boat with shallow draft to handle the fast flowing and shallow rivers of NZ.

Jet-boat from the Dart River Safari.

Rees River Bridge Viewpoint

On the way back to Glenorchy, we made a quick stop at the Rees River Bridge for some more photos. Google Map Location here.

This is a very beautiful place to park the car and enjoy a short walk by the Rees River.

There is a parking space for one or two cars on the side of the road just before the bridge.

View of the Rees River Bridge.

Very peaceful place. A beautiful place to park and enjoy a walk by the river.

Overall, we spent slightly over 2 hours to explore Glenorchy and the surroundings. From Glenorchy, we took the same scenic drive back to Queenstown where we would stay for one night.