Elven Wizard in New Zealand

& the birth of Inner Realms Journey in 2020

Thanks for coming by! Below is Inner Realms Journey founder, Aaron Pyne (aka the Elven Wizard), the story of his journey through New Zealand in 2020 and how it set the foundation for Inner Realms Journey. Scroll to the bottom to see some pics from his adventure!

Written on 1/23/23

Three years ago, I planned out a special Lord of the Rings tour day for myself on the North Island of New Zealand while there on a trip. This day was special, it was a major turning point for me. During this trip to New Zealand, there was a deep sense of something new I was to do. I felt I couldn’t just keep playing life the same way. There was a powerful, big idea swirling around inside me, but I had been afraid to make the jump to bring it to life. Living in the comfort of the known, I knew this idea would take me from the known and push me out on a grand adventure.

My day started early with the first tour at Weta Studios in Wellington, where I got to see and learn more about the behind-the-scenes props and design of the movie. From there, I drove up to Kaitoke Regional Park, where many of the scenes for Rivendell (the Elven city) were shot. It’s a beautiful forest with a special path with signs showing you where scenes were shot. Since my teenage years of playing D&D and reading fantasy novels, I’ve always loved Elves. It was here, in this forest chosen to be the home of the Elves, that the forest spoke to me, whispering to me that it was time… time to build this crazy idea, and bring this majik forth.

The crazy idea that had been spinning around in my head, which I now call Inner Realms Journey, is an epic new game-like experience that combines many of my passions ~ fantasy, mythology, meditation, gaming, art, and personal development. Here in Kaitoke Regional Park, I passed through the replica of the beautiful Elven Gateway, which Frodo & company passes through it at 1:49:24 in the Fellowship of the Ring Extended as they begin their quest. As I walked through this Elven Gateway, I made an oath to myself, to the world, and the realms beyond to build this platform, Inner Realms Journey, as my contribution to help this here, Middle Earth, and the peoples that live here.

From there, confident in my decision, my purpose, and my quest, I drove the 6.5hr+ northward to catch an evening tour at Hobbiton. There I got to walk amongst the beautiful rolling farmlands of the Shire. The beauty and peace there were incredible. Feeling fulfilled and satisfied with all that was, this traveler rested at Airbnb nearby.

After that day, I traveled to Auckland and made some wonderful connections with a few locals, then it was time to return to my home in the States. Upon my return, I began drafting up my plans, and since all of my work is already online, and my schedule is fairly flexible, I was inspired to return to New Zealand to take a two-month retreat to begin building this platform. I felt the magic of New Zealand is where I should weave my spells and bring this creation into existence. Trusting my intuition, I made the arrangements and happened to arrive there just days before the great plague unleashed upon Middle Earth. As the world went through one of its greatest challenges, I found myself tucked away in one of the safest places in the world. Friends and family in the States encouraged me to stay there in NZ, where life was less chaotic. I knew I had been given a great gift and the peace I needed to put forth all my skills, creativity, and time into building Inner Realms Journey. My originally planned two months extended out to an amazing 13 months in the land of New Zealand.

During this journey, my inner Avatar developed – the Elven Wizard. For within my meditation game, you meet my Avatar (the Elven Wizard), who guides you to create your own heroic, mythical empowered self – your Avatar. I knew that to invite others to develop and embody their own Avatar, I had to do it myself, which has been one of the most transformational and joyful things I’ve done! Thus, in my final months in NZ, I traveled the land as the Elven Wizard. There I got to connect with many wonderful locals that are still near and dear to me (big love to you if you’re reading this!), attend several fantastic festivals (likely the only festivals that happen in 2020/2021!), as well as travel to see and connect with the beautiful land, and locations where the LotR movies were shot. I even acquired my amazing Manuka Wizard Staff that still travels with me, helping me to wield my wizard majik! During my journey, many who saw me wondering around and taking photos thought I was there as Gandalf, to which I would have fun replying, “No, not Gandalf. I’m the Elven Wizard, one Gandalf’s associates. He’s retired, so they sent me this time to help Middle Earth!”

All of this was a massive inspiration for the format, meditations, and storyline of Inner Realms Journey. I even got to return to the Elven Gateway and pass through it again with the initial gamebook and journal for my platform. I also got to celebrate International Hobbit Day at Hobbiton as the Elven Wizard.

During my final days there, I got to share my epic adventure meditations with many new friends, at several events, and even in a few classrooms. Even getting to visit a local school class that had started using my program as a meditation and creative arts curriculum (Which has been further developed into our full program for kids.) They were all super excited to have the Elven Wizard show up at their school!

Since then, I’ve returned to the states, bringing my journey and the majik I gathered there to bring Inner Realms Journey out to the people to support personal empowerment, creativity, mental & emotional health, and help more people access the many benefits of meditation in a fun, exciting new way.

It’s still on my todo list to build a full gallery of all the incredible images and videos I took while there, but some great ones are below.

I hope my story might inspire you to live your life to the greatest and follow your dreams!

Some of the key places I visited:

  1. Auckland
  2. Cape Reinga Lighthouse – Te Aroha (Spirit Tree)
  3. Tāne Mahuta: lord of the forest  –  New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree 
  4. Soul Festival
  5. Hobbiton – International Hobbits Day
  6. Lake Taupo – Hookah Falls, Craters of the Moon, Redwood Forest
  7. Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt. doom)
  8. Tawhai Falls (Gollums Pool)
  9. Mount Ruapehu (Orc territory)
  10. Egmon National Park – Mountain near New Plymouth – Enchanted Trail
  11. Norsewood – Viking Festival   & collaborated with Mead Label designs for Honey Bandit Mead : https://honeybandit.co.nz/product-category/mythic-collection/ 
  12. Stonehenge Aotearoa
  13. Wellington
    1. Rivendale – Kaitoke Regonal Park
    2. The Gardens of Isengard  – harcourt park
    3. Weta Studios
    4. Hobbits Hideaway
    5. The One-Room Fan Museum http://www.theoneroomfanmuseum.nz/ 
    6. Beehive parliament
  14. Putangirua Pinnacles – Paths of the Dead
  15. Jens Hansen The Ringmaker –https://www.jenshansen.com/ 
  16. Castle Hill
  17. Lake Tekapo
  18. Edoras – Mount Sunday
  19. Queenstown and surrounding areas LotR tour by www.pureglenorchy.com 
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Photos of Inner Realms Journey founder,  the Elven Wizard (aka Aaron Pyne) on his journey through New Zealand which inspired much of IRJ!

Start your free Journey into the Realms!