New Xenaland
	Xena and Hercules Locations Waiti valley

Renpics have used the upper Waiti valley beyond the edge of the Wainamu dunes very intensively for the filming of Hercules and Xena episodes from Hercules and the Amazon Women onwards. This valley is private property, though glimpses of parts of it could be obtained from the surrounding high ground.

The best on-screen view of the valley can be obtained in the Hercules episode Let The Games Begin, where the camera tracks right round the valley. The lower part of the valley is an open grassy paddock, backed by a steep hill slope with scattered trees; this has been used, for example, in the confrontation with Caesar and the Ares scene in The Deliverer, and Xena talking to Boadicea in her chariot.

Two views from...	Let The Games Begin	Caesar tries his favourite game in The Deliverer

The upper part of the valley is surrounded by thick bush covering the slopes on all sides, with clearings in the valley bottom. In one of those clearings is, or was, the remains of the Amazon village from Hercules and the Amazon Women; the curving stone staircases can be clearly seen, and the platform with a spiral staircase that Callisto stood beside when giving Hope the 'Gabby look' in Sacrifice 2, and from which an Amazon sentry threw a spear at Aphrodite in Love Amazon Style. These clearings have also been used for, among many scenes, the 'capture' scene in Ides of March, Hercules talking to Morrigan in Darkness Rising, and a host of others.

Looking down on the upper valley	The capture scene in Ides of March
Where did that woodwork come from? (Sacrifice 2)	Callisto's spiral staircase looks just as incongruous in real life

The only publicly accessible view of part of it is from Te Aute Road, from a corner just at the top of a hump a few yards before it swings from the Te Aute ridge back down to rejoin the Bethells road. [Just below the T of 'TE' on the map]. The roadside is covered in tea-tree which gets in the way of photos, and the lower ridge between Te Aute and Waiti streams hides the most interesting part of the valley.
All that can be seen is the slopes above the meadow where the 'Games' were held in Let The Games Begin, where Caesar tried to crucify Gabrielle and where Xena confronted Ares in The Deliverer.

Looking at the south slopes of the upper Waiti valley	... and the north side of the Wainamu ridge, from Te Aute Rd The lower ridge between Te Aute and Waiti valleys comes 1/3rd the way up the photo	The same meadow seen from the other direction, near the head of the valley, above the 15m waterfall. On the horizon, the fields above O'Neill Bay (scene of Looking Death in the Eye).

Wainamu ridge

Wainamu ridge seen end-on from the Waiti dunes Wainamu ridge on right, Melas's tree ridge extends across leftwards	Looking down on Lake Wainamu from the ridge Dunes out of sight in valley to right	Melas's tree seen from the beach in Sacrifice

From the highest point on the ridge [above the first 'a' of 'Wainamu'], a spur runs north, then north-west. The north-east slope of this has been used on occasion for 'travelling' shots, mostly in Hercules, of people walking down the slope past the cabbage trees. Below this spur, and crossed by the track on the map, is the open grassy paddock that can be partly seen from Te Aute Road.
Across the stream from this paddock, and completely hidden from all viewpoints except one spot on the Wainamu ridge, is a large clearing - or a collection of partly-connected small clearings - which has been used in many episodes ever since the Herc telemovies. [Around the last 'i' in 'Waiti' on the map]. Call it the 'secret valley' :)

The spur extending northwards from the mid-point of the Wainamu ridge	Looking down from the ridge above the upper valley The paddock in centre extends out of sight behind the spur on left (but visible from Te Aute Rd) Waiti Stream flows right to left through the trees in the middle of the view Upper left is the face of the ridge between Te Aute and Waiti valleys (note the distinctive parallel tracks across the slope)	Across the stream is this hidden part of the valley - not visible from anywhere except this point on the Wainamu ridge - and it's very interesting

Take a closer look - particularly at the top end of the clearing	- closer still - there are some curious features there -	- screw on a 2x tele-extender and try again

At the top of the clearing is none other than Callisto's spiral staircase from Sacrifice 2 - the one she stood beside when giving Hope the 'Gabby look'. It was first used (I think) in Hercules and the Amazon Women, and last used in Love Amazon Style.
Beside it are the two curving staircases to the main 'hall' of the Amazon village in Hercules and the Amazon Women. (The building has gone).

This clearing has been used in innumerable episodes - for example, the capture scene in Ides of March, probably the Xena and Brutus scene in the same episode, Aphrodite riding nude in Love Amazon Style, Herc talking to Morrigan in Darkness Rising, the fight scene at the start of Let The Games Begin and probably dozens of the scenes set in clearings where there isn't enough background to identify. There are also large areas of surrounding 'bush' which have probably also been used but again aren't identifiable.