Heli-Mt. Biking outside Twizel. Twizel lies just down the road from Mt Cook/Aoraki National Park, where the spectacular opening scenes of The Two Towers were filmed. This mountain town, set in the heart of the McKenzie Basin, was used extensively for scenes involving Rohan. Ben Ohau Station, a working high country sheep station nestled at the foot of the Southern Alps, provided the plains of Rohan where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli pursue the Orcs at the start of the film. Our guide, pictured here with Chris was actually in the film as one of the Orcs. The biking trail was more or less a dirt road - super steep at times - and often really bumpy and uneven. Spooking the sheep along the way was fun - but it's hard to match the single track in Northern Cal and Oregon. Not that I'm complaining.... any time I can get a lift to the top for a downhill ride is just fine - especially when it's a rollercoaster of a ride with a veteran heli-pilot flying like a madman trying to match the requests of our cameraman Celso.
