Paradise, New Zealand facts for kids
Paradise is a small, quiet area in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It's a beautiful countryside spot located near the top of Lake Wakatipu, on the eastern side of the Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu. The nearby town is Glenorchy.
This area is mostly used for farming sheep and cattle. But it's also famous for being a filming location for many movies and TV shows!
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Paradise in Movies and TV
Paradise is a very scenic place. Because of its natural beauty, it has been chosen as a setting for several popular films and television series.
Movies Filmed in Paradise
- The Lord of the Rings: This famous movie series used Paradise for some of its magical scenes. It helped create places like Parth Galen and parts of Lothlórien, which is a beautiful elven forest.
- The Hobbit: The movies based on The Hobbit also filmed here. You can see Paradise in the scenes that show the outside of Beorn's house.
TV Shows Filmed in Paradise
- Top of the Lake: This TV show, made by the BBC, used Paradise as its main setting. However, much of the actual filming took place in the nearby town of Glenorchy.
Why is it Called Paradise?
People have different ideas about how Paradise got its name.
One popular story says it was named after a type of bird. This bird is called the paradise shelduck, and there used to be many of them in the area.
Another idea is that the name comes from the area's amazing beauty. An article from 1860 in the Lake Wakatip Mail suggested that the place was simply so beautiful it felt like paradise.
