Prince Caspian Brings Narnia Back To New Zealand

The latest in the movie adaptation of C. S. Lewis' Narnia books has hit the big screen, once again showcasing the beauty of New Zealand and the magic that can be experienced here.

'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian', is the sequel to 2005's 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'. Complete with majestic bluffs, mysterious forests and lush grassy plains, both movies succeed in turning the amazing landscapes of New Zealand into the mystical world of Narnia.

Discover the magic of Cathedral Cove situated on the Coromandel Peninsula
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Both films were directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson, director of the Academy Award winning Shrek movies, who is passionate about his homeland and the landscapes that underpin his creations. 'New Zealand gave us the magic of Narnia,' says Adamson.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian transformed several New Zealand locations into Narnia.

Mercury Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula served as the settings for scenes in which the Pevensie children took their first steps back into Narnia. One was Cathedral Cove, on the eastern shore of the peninsula, and a majestic bluff rising several hundred feet above the ocean where the siblings discover the ruins of Cair Paravel, defined by a deep river chasm book-ended by cascading waterfalls that plunge 200 feet into the glassy waters. Actress Anna Popplewell who plays Susan Pevensie says 'the water shimmered so clearly audiences won’t believe it’s real water. It appears to be an optical illusion created by VFX in post-production.'

	Take a ride in breath-taking Paradise.
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While other parts of the movie were filmed in Eastern Europe, Adamson maintains that New Zealand was the perfect place to film Prince Caspian.

'The thing that New Zealand offers that a lot of places don't is a proliferation of old-growth forests,' Adamson says. 'There's not an area of Europe that hasn't been felled and re-grown at some point, so finding an old growth forest is very difficult. In New Zealand, the whole west coast of the South Island is covered with ancient forests.'

The Prince Caspian movie picks up a year after the Pevensie children left Narnia and returned to school during World War II-era London. But 1,300 years have passed in the magical land where they once served as kings and queens and it’s now under the rule of the Telmarines and is in ruins. The animals have gone into hiding in the forest and the majestic lion Aslan hasn't been seen in a millennium.

With The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe receiving three Oscar nominations, Auckland born Adamson can expect further success with Prince Caspian. He says the Narnia Chronicles were very important to him as a child and he would be 'perfectly happy if he could adapt all seven novels into movies.'