Signum University

Stars and Signs

Signum University, along with members of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Tolkien Fan Community, invites you to join us on 6-8 February, 2027 (Saturday to Monday) for our first Kiwi Moot. This English-language hybrid event will take place at Courtenay Creative in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. For our first Kiwi Moot, we invite you to bring your sense of wonder and imagination to scan the skies for Stars and Signs. Along with the Moot itself, we are also pleased to offer two unique once-in-a-lifetime experiences before and after the Moot:

A pre-Moot excursion and roadtrip in and around the North Island from Monday, 1 February to Friday, 5 February visiting filming sites of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, starting in Auckland and ending in Wellington, including a banquet feast in Hobbiton and a walk to Mount Doom.

A post-Moot excursion and roadtrip in and around the South Island from Wednesday, 10 February to Sunday, 14 February, continuing visiting filming sites of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, flying to Christchurch from Wellington and ending in Queenstown, including sites for Edoras, Rohan, and Gondor.

These excursions are additional and extra to Kiwi Moot, and not required to participate in to enjoy Kiwi Moot itself. The excursions will be a group travel experience and will have a mix of paid experiences and our own exploring, with the guidance of The Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, and Dr. Maggie Parke, our head of Signum Studios, along side our local and knowledgable Kiwi Moot attendees. We will be using rental cars and vans to travel from site to site while staying in motels, modest apartments, and backpacker accommodations, as many of the sites are far from large cities. There will be self-catering and also sit-down meals at restaurants. Scroll down below to view a full, general itinerary of both excursions.

Register Here for Kiwi Moot!

Cost for Kiwi Moot:

• In-Person Adult Ticket: USD $100 (NZD $172, AUD $143, £76, €88)
• In-Person Student Ticket: USD $45 (NZD $78, AUD $64, £34, €39)
• Remote Ticket: USD $35 (NZD $60, AUD $50, £26, €31)

Required Deposit for Kiwi Moot Excursions: USD $300 (NZD $518, AUD $429, £227, €263)

*note* – Please be aware our system only allows for one person to be registered at a time. If you have family coming with you, for example, you must register each person individually. Paying multiple deposits on one registration does not register multiple people.

In the firmament of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, the stars are more than distant suns. They are the first light of creation, the high beauty kindled by Varda Elentári, and a beacon of untainted hope in a world shadowed by decline. Kiwi Moot invites fans and scholars from around the world to explore the dual role of celestial and symbolic guidance in Tolkien’s legendarium: the profound tension between the stars as objective, guiding truths and the signs as subjective, sometime coercive, instruments of power.

Where the stars offer a steady, untouchable light that leads the Elves to awakening and rightful Kings to their hidden crowns, the forces of the Enemy craft a darker semiotics. From the brooding Red Eye of Sauron to the stark White Hand of Saruman, these signs are tools of domination and despair, meticulously designed to make evil feel inevitable. They are the iconography of a manufactured reality, a propaganda of inevitability that seeks to overwrite the world’s original beauty. Kiwi Moot will delve into this dichotomy, examining how Tolkien uses these motifs to explore the nature of truth, the burden of choice, and the power of perception in a fallen world.

We encourage submissions that navigate these themes, considering (but not limited to):

• Cosmic Guidance: Prophecy and foresight, the role of astronomy and starlight in narrative, and the concept of eucatastrophe as a guiding light in the dark.
• Mortal Choice: The intricate dance between fate and free will, the ethics of decision-making, and the process of losing and finding one’s way, both physically and spiritually.
• The Language of Power: Heraldry, symbols, and alphabets as markers of identity, lineage, or domination; the semiotics of evil and its psychological impact.
• Creation and Cartography: The art of mythmaking and storytelling itself, maps and mapmaking as both practical guides and records of perilous journeys, and the alphabets that preserve the words of hope and warning.

Furthermore, in a city synonymous with the cinematic realization of Middle-earth, “Stars and Signs” also winks at the role of film and adaptation. We invite reflections on the “stars” of Peter Jackson’s trilogies, shot in the breathtaking landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand, and how these adaptations become new “signs” for Tolkien’s world in the modern consciousness. How do subsequent adaptations reinterpret the guiding lights and dark omens of the books? What new meanings emerge when these stories are translated to the screen and beyond?

Set in Wellington, the very heart of “Middle-earth,” Kiwi Moot promises to be a unique gathering where the light of scholarship meets the landscapes that brought the myths to life. We invite you to join us in tracing the constellations of meaning that guide us through Tolkien’s enduring masterpiece.

Submit Your Presentation Proposal Here!

Please note that a conference theme helps tie the day together and optimize fun, and we welcome anyone to respond to the Call for Proposals. Our moots are supportive environments for practicing or developing your presentation skills regardless of your experience.

This Call for Proposals will close after 1 November. We will finalize the schedule then and post it here.

Please read our Regional Moot Recording and Privacy Notice. You will be required to agree to its contents in our registration system before completing your ticket purchase.

Day to Day Itineraries for Pre-and-Post Moot Excursions

Pre-Moot Excursion: 1-5 February

1 February: Your Middle-earth experience begins in Auckland city midafternoon. Get yourself to Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower to meet the group at 2pm. From there, your food, travel and accommodation is sorted until you reach Wellington on the afternoon of 5 February. Start by learning about the craft of movie making with the Weta Unleashed experience along with a ‘worldbuilding’ hands-on workshop. We’re staying at a midpriced hotel a block or two away, and we’ll enjoy dinner together on the Viaduct Harbour in New Zealand’s largest city. Jet-lagged folk can walk back to the hotel to turn in early if needed.

2 February: As a group, we’ll take the local train to south Auckland and hop in our rental vans which we’ve procured for you. We’ll be heading south for a picnic lunch at Hamilton Gardens and a couple of hours exploring. Then, on to  Cambridge, where we’ll check in and costume up (optional of course) before the big event: an evening tour and banquet at Hobbiton.

3 February: The group will drive to the Tongariro Plateau after stopping for the morning at the Hairy Feet Waitomo Film Location Tour in Piopio. We’ll visit Tawhai Falls (Gollum’s pool) and Meads Wall (the Emyn Muil) near Whakapapa Village. Another hour on the road will bring us to Ohakune, where we’ll all stay together at a lodge for two nights. We’ll have some downtime, the option of a riverside stroll, and dinner out. 

4 February: We’ll split into two groups, returning past Whakapapa Village to the Tongariro Crossing area. 

For keen walkers: It’ll be an early start to catch the shuttle for the eight-hour, 20km (12.4 mi) hike over the Tongariro Crossing (Lonely Planet’s “Best One-day Walk in the World”). We’ll pass by the foot of Mount Doom and up over craters, steam vents, and beautiful volcanic lakes. Experienced hikers familiar with the terrain will be with you; moderate fitness is necessary. Our vans will be waiting for us at the far side of the maunga, and we’ll head back to Ohakune for dinner with the rest of the group. (You can watch this video to get a better idea if this long hike is right for you.)

For everyone else: Enjoy a later start to do the more leisurely three-hour, 6km (3.7mi) first section of the Tongariro Crossing to the Soda Springs, featuring great views of Mount Doom and hopefully back over our shoulder to the Lonely Mountain. In the early afternoon, we’ll go back by way of Whakapapa Village to take a gondola ride up the Mount Ruapehu for spectacular views and a hot or cold drink at the top. Then back to Ohakune.

We’ve got onsite catering arranged so we can have a casual, drawn-out meal and a night in at our Lodge … maybe a movie night is on the cards after such an active day!

5 February: A stop at ‘Gollum’s fish’ film site near Ohakune, then enjoy a leisurely drive to Wellington with lunch in Bulls. We’ll arrive into Wellington around 3pm, with coordinated drop-offs around the city as we split up and stay in our own booked accommodation during the Wellington part of the trip. The evening is a chance to relax and explore ahead of the Moot starting on 6 February. 

Kiwi Moot: 6-8 February

Kiwi Moot will start at 9am local time on each day and end before 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, Kiwi Moot ends around 3pm. Your Kiwi Moot conference ticket covers Morning and Afternoon Tea, but not lunch or dinner, so factor that into your planning. We are also planning on evening activities on Saturday and Sunday evening in addition to dinner, including an outing to Te Ara Whānui ki te Rangi Space Place at Carter Observatory. Please note we are asking for payment for our aftermoot evening activities and dinners up-front through our Blackberry system rather than with cash at Kiwi Moot. If you are joining us in the evenings, you can pay through this link.

Free Day: 9 February

Take a free day before your excursion to the South Island to explore the city, or get out of it to the surrounding area. Spend more time with your new friends (or much needed time by yourself). Informal and optional group activities include Zealandia, Te Papa, a day trip northeast to see Rivendell, the “Paths of the Dead” Valley, plus Martinborough wineries, or more local exploration of the Weta Workshop Cave and extra hands-on workshop activities. Enjoy local hikes, mountain biking, and ferry trips along with shopping or just lazing on the inner city beachfront. Perhaps a cricket match?

Post-Moot Excursion: 10-14 February

10 February: We’ll be meeting at Wellington airport first thing to fly to Christchurch. This flight is already booked for you if you are on the trip. Once we arrive in the South Island, we’ll transition into groups of rental cars and drive out to Mount Sunday (Edoras). We’ll spend time here walking up the hill where the Golden Hall once was, and have a picnic lunch. From there, on to Tekapo for beautiful views and a break, before the last push on to Twizel where we will stay for two nights. We’ll enjoy a relatively simple dinner at a local cafe, and get an earlyish night to round out this big travel day.

11 February: Two half-day activities, or the choice to spend time at Twizel/around it just strolling in the tussock …

• Visiting Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, getting up close to a glacier by walking the Hooker Valley track. (morning)
• Visiting a high country sheep station where Laketown scenes from The Hobbit were shot – the area is adjacent to other film sites as well and the journey there will be reminiscent of these. (afternoon)
• Opt out of one or both half-day activities and enjoy rest time in Twizel, spending some time by Lake Pukaki or strolling under the wide, open skies and golden tussock of Rohan/Gondor.

In the evening, we’ll share dinner together at the local brewpub, and if the sky is clear, once the sun has set and the stars are out, we’ll enjoy some guided star watching in this dark sky reserve, hopefully with stars reflected in the still water of the many canals in this town.

12 February: We’ll head further south to Queenstown. Depending what your carload chooses, there are a number of options for sites to stop at on the way (the Anduin, the Argonath, and various gorgeous mountain scenes. Upon arriving in Queenstown, we’ll check into shared apartments for two nights. Enjoy all that Aotearoa New Zealand’s premium tourist resort town has to offer with your new friends, exploring on foot from your central location. Sit down together for dinner and lively conversation. 

13 February: We’ll take a day trip to the Glenorchy area, which features the following movie sites: Ithilien, the Mumakil sighting, Lothlorien, and Orthanc. We’ll aim to meet as a group for lunch, but rotate or stagger our stops at these sites as necessary. You’ll move on to Arrowtown in the afternoon to visit the Fords of Bruinen and share a final, lengthy, hobbity meal together before heading back to Queenstown for the night.

14 February: The End of All Things. Say goodbye to your fellow travelers and fly homewards… or continue to explore New Zealand on your own, with friends, or add package trips to further film locations from tourist providers in Queenstown, which also serves as the gateway to the gorgeous Fiordland where more adventures await! We will be checking out of our apartments and returning the cars during this morning, so it’s your responsibility to plan and book your homeward travel and any further holiday you are after.

Participants will receive a more detailed schedule well before the event.

Kiwi Moot FAQ