Paradise is a rural locality in the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

region of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. It lies on the eastern side of the

Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu The Dart River (officially Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu from ) flows through rugged forested country in the southwestern South Island of New Zealand. Partly in Mount Aspiring National Park, it flows south-west and then south for from its head ...

at the head of

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu () is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori l ...

, close to the settlement of Glenorchy. The surrounding area is used for sheep and cattle farming. The locality has also been used as a setting in films and television.

Art, entertainment, and media

Films

*The locality was used during filming of ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, wherein it represented

Parth Galen Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the King'', is largely ...

and parts of

Lothlórien In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien or Lórien is the fairest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age. It is ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn from their city of tree houses at Caras Galadhon. The wood-el ...

, specifically the area which the Fellowship first enters. *It was also used in ''The Hobbit'' trilogy, for scenes of the exterior of Beorn's house.

Television

*The locality was used as the setting for much of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

miniseries ''

Top of the Lake ''Top of the Lake'' is a mystery drama television series created and written by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, and directed by Campion and Garth Davis. It was broadcast in 2013, and the sequel, entitled ''Top of the Lake: China Girl'', in 2017 ...

,'' although filming of the latter took place in the nearby town of Glenorchy.

Origin of the name

A.W. Reed recorded that the locality was first known as Paradise Flat, and that a popular (but not universally accepted) view attributes the name to an abundance of

paradise shelduck The paradise shelduck (''Tadorna variegata''), also known as the paradise duck, or in Māori, is a species of shelduck, a group of goose-like ducks, which is endemic to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin placed it in the genus '' Anas'' w ...

s., pp. 319-320. Another contention, supported by Alfred Duncan's article, "Paradise and the Maori" in the ''Lake Wakatip Mail'', in 1860, suggests that the area was named because of its beauty.

References

Populated places in Otago Queenstown-Lakes District {{Otago-geo-stub