Those who believe that middle-earth is far away, err: for New Zealanders and Australians and some of the islanders in the neighbourhood, it is pretty close. For inhabitants of other destinations usually dubbed ‘long-haul’ like Shanghai, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Hong Kong and Tokyo, ‘it is just a sleep away’, says Jodi Williams, head of Global Brand Development of Air New Zealand. That may be true. Europe, however, is painfully remote – and for us over here New Zealand, indeed, ‘is tucked away at the bottom of the earth’. Meaning, that most of us are deprived of ever experiencing the awesome scenery live, that has been filming location for a series of unearthly movies of monumental calibre.