WILD WEST? NO, IT’S CENTRAL OTAGO
Aotearoa stood in for 1920s Montana in a new award-winning Hollywood film.
Once again, Hollywood has put New Zealand on the map as a must-visit travel destination – the scenery seen in The Power of the Dog has left moviegoers in awe, particularly those who managed to watch it at the cinema. While the film has made many movie buffs want to see our landscape in person, at this moment Kiwis are the only ones lucky enough to be able to explore it. So why not make the most of it with a trip to the film locations? The movie was shot in several places in Aotearoa – Dunedin, Oamaru, Queenstown and Lindis Valley, all standing in for 1920s Montana.
The most memorable setting from the film has to be the rolling hills of the Hawkdun Range (pictured), which was the backdrop for the Burbank ranch. While director Jane Campion had originally planned to shoot in the US or Canada, ultimately filming in her home country turned out to be the best choice. “On the second day of sniffing around the South Island, which I know well, I was taken to a property near the Hawkdun Ranges area in Central Otago,” she said. “I fell in love with it. It’s so remote and it’s 360-degrees empty with an amazing hill range behind it that felt very atmospheric.”