In Memory of Deer Park Heights
This week, I was commenting on A Dangerous Business’ great photo of the Remarkables when I found out something that really saddened me…Queenstown’s Deer Park Heights has been permanently closed.
Stunning scenery at Deer Park Heights
Deer Park Heights was one of my favourite places in Queenstown. Not only could you get some of the most stunning views possible of the Remarkables, Lake Wakatipu, the Kawarau, and Queenstown itself, but you could feed the “wildlife” and visit a plethora of Lord of the Rings filming sights as well. I had so much fun there on my first visit in 2005 that I made a point of going back three years later as well.
An inquisitive alpaca checks out our car…followed by a goat a few minutes later.
My first trip was the second half of a Lord of the Rings day trip around Queenstown. The morning half of the trip took us up Lake Wakatipu to Twelve Mile Delta, Glenorchy, and Paradise, which were all stunning locations even without the additional intrigue of them being Lord of the Rings locations (for those that are interested, the locations were (a) where Sam and Frodo first saw the Oliphaunts, (b) Isengard, and (c) Lothlorien). The second trip was simply the result of a friend asking what we could do in Queenstown that was reasonably cheap ($20 entrance fee per car).
Donkeys get up close and personal with any car that’s going slow enough!
The first thing that struck me when entering Deer Park Heights was the sheer number of animals wandering around. This is only amplified when in a small car rather than a large Deer Park Safaris bus! Occasionally herds of goats or a yak would block the road and we’d have to nudge forward to scatter them and continue on. Open your windows at peril–you might end up with a donkey licking your steering wheel or gnawing at the cover on your dashboard!
He’s making an ass of himself…and the hog is doing a good impression.
There are a few stops along the way where you can actually get out and feed these animals too (for $2). I’m sure the donkeys get fed way too much — they were very good at shoving all of the smaller animals and even the Shetland pony out of the way — but they sure didn’t act like it. The photo above was taken when the donkeys were straining for someone, anyone, to give them a little morsel of food.
The Kawarau River valley.
No less striking were the stunning views that just got better as we got closer to the top of the Heights.To the northeast was the Kawarau River basin, a tiny blue line cutting through a verdant green landscape. To the east were the Remarkables, a mountain range that truly lives up to its name (which our guide told us was because they are one of the few mountain ranges in the world that run directly north-south). To the west was the gorgeous blue of Lake Wakatipu, its arms separated by tall, rolling hills. It was difficult to get back into the car at each viewpoint, and the bonus of my second trip was that we didn’t have to. We could stand and stare in awe for as long as we wanted!
The Korean prison used in "The Rescue"
Surprisingly, I also got to see a piece of Disney history in Deer Park Heights. I was completely unaware that Disney had made a film about a Korean prison in the late 80s, but the evidence of The Rescue’s filming was there. Apparently they filmed there for nearly a month and then left the set for posterity. Unfortunately, as most buildings do when they aren’t kept up, it fell into disrepair and was surrounded in fences to keep people away from the crumbling building. It made for some interesting pictures of communist murals against a beautiful backdrop…but also showed why the NZ government mandated all future film sets (including those from The Lord of the Rings) get pulled down.
Even though we couldn’t see the actual Lord of the Rings sets, there were still many stops where I could picture myself in an exact scene from the movie. These included:
The mountain tarn (which Peter Jackson made look like a giant lake) that the Rohirrim walked around on their exodus from Edoras (The Two Towers)
The hills that the wargs ran down to attack Aragorn and the Rohirrim as they walked to Helm’s Deep (The Two Towers)
The cliff that Aragorn fell off of shortly after (one of my most disliked scenes from The Two Towers…but yes, I still took a picture “falling off” the cliff)
The “river” that Aragon sees Sauron’s minions pillaging when he emerges from the Paths of the Dead (The Return of the King)
All of this has been closed to Queenstown visitors since 2009, and there is no plan to reopen because the owners have declared themselves too old to handle the attraction. I can only hope that it will reopen sometime in the future so more visitors — LOTR and non-LOTR fans alike — can spend many more afternoons here, being harrassed by donkeys and goats while they try to snap a picture of the view!
About KristinI'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
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I'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name!
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Just got back from a weekend visit to Queenstown and were surprised to find Deer Park closed. Have not been there for 3 years and wanted to go visit the stunning views we remembered. Weirdly there were not even any signs. We wondered whether they were closed due to filming or something. Thank you for you post. We too are great fans of the ex deer park.
Thanks for your comment, Liesl! It’s really sad that you couldn’t go back and see the views. I haven’t been to Queenstown since Deer Park closed but I know I would be sad driving past it too! It’s odd that they haven’t put signs up at all — you would think that they would at least have something at the entrance that says what’s going on. I hope that one day they can find someone to sell the property to that will understand the value of tourism there and reopen it to the public!
Gutted to see this has closed. I was also out there in 2005 and was one of the highlights of my trip and the best thing in Queenstown! Loads of great photos and the North Korean prison on the top of the hill was a massive surprise! Planning to go back next year to NZ and I am gutted its not open. Hope it opens again one day!
Hi Ken, thanks for your comment! I was really gutted to see that it had closed too. It was becoming a regular stop on my visits to Queenstown, so I can only hope that it eventually reopens so we can all go back and get even more photos!
The North Korean prison really was a surprise, wasn’t it? I totally wasn’t expecting something like that in the middle of a wildlife reserve!
Hope you have a great trip back to NZ next year. I’m hoping to work it into my plans for next year as well. Are you planning on going back to the South Island or up to the North as well?
I was really sad to see this spot had closed down when I went to NZ last. I was really looking forward to getting some amazing photos there!
It’s really sad that you didn’t get to go there before it closed! I know I’d be sad going back to Queenstown now knowing that I can’t go up there. Here’s hoping that someday they sell the property to someone that sees its value to the public and reopens it!
Hi i am the grandson of the People who closed the Deer Park
and im happy to see that you are seeking a return of deer park heights and i reassure you that if not me but other family members will re-open deer park heights.
Hi George, thanks for your comment! It’s great to hear that you and your family members want to reopen Deer Park Heights. It really is a treasure for Queenstown and a place that many people have been very sad to see closed. I hope you’re able to make it happen…and I hope your grandparents are enjoying their retirement too!