Hobbit-themed eagle sculptures to depart New Zealand airport
Two Hobbit-themed eagle sculptures, including one ridden by the wizard Gandalf, are set to depart Wellington Airport after 12 years.
For more than a decade, travelers at New Zealand’s Wellington Airport have been greeted by two Hobbit-themed sculptures of giant, hovering eagles, one of which carried wizard Gandalf.
Suspended from the roof by cables, the two towering figures were unveiled in 2013 to promote director Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” and Hobbit films, which were filmed in New Zealand over a period of 15 years.
Each eagle weighs more than a ton and has a 50-foot wingspan, with a combined total of 1,000 feathers. The majestic birds originally served as rescuers and fighters in the fantasy adventure films, which are based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The pair will say their last goodbye to visitors Friday and “fly off into the sunset,” making space for a new display, the airport said Monday.
Passengers at Wellington Airport below the eagle sculpture on Monday.Charlotte Graham-McLay / APThe eagles’ departure will be “the end of an era,” Wellington Airport’s chief executive Matt Clarke said.
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