Gaping Gandalf

In the The Grey Book, acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellen’s diary of the Lord of the Rings film shoot, McKellen raves about the scenery: “New Zealand would amaze and enrapture anyone who responds to the wild landscapes of Middle-earth.”  And gets a little tookish yearning for the South Island: “I spy the interisland (fast) ferry chugging past my Wellington window for the sail across the Cook Strait which separates the islands. I envy the passengers.”