The Argonath in Australia (aka "Slot Canyons")

[BrianB]

I saw the following on Twitter yesterday:

Slot Canyons in Australia pic.twitter.com/MfPr8FsiHh

— Earth Natures (@Earthplaces1) September 12, 2018

(And here's another example on Twitter.) To any LotR fan it's clearly the Argonath from The Fellowship of the Ring. I searched on Google and found this photo on several Pinterest pages (e.g., here, here, and here), a page on Tumblr that links back to Pinterest, and a a Polish-language page.

From what I can tell it goes back to at least March 2014 on Twitter and on Pinterest back at least to August 2014. In addition, it's occasionally claimed to be the Yangzhee River in China. From what I can find it seems to be concept art by Craig Mullins although I can't find it on his website.

I assume the Twitter accounts that post this image are bots (people correct them but they keep tweeting it) but I'm curious how a CGI image of the Argonath got linked with Australian slot canyons. One of the tweets I linked to above says there was a discussion on the OneRing.net site but I haven't been able to find it.

Brian

[dfresh]

It can't be Australia, there are no deadly animals! Or are they all hiding, waiting to leap out as soon as we get near?

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by dfresh

It can't be Australia, there are no deadly animals! Or are they all hiding, waiting to leap out as soon as we get near?

They were standing behind the photographer...
only his camera was found.

[ChasFink]

I was going to say it can't be Australia because there are no Kookaburras, but then I realized they only live in the jungle.

[dfresh]

Originally Posted by Alarm

They were standing behind the photographer...
only his camera was found.

OK, that does explain it.

[GenYus234]

They should have at least said they were in New Zealand, that would have been correctish.

[dfresh]

No one would have fallen for that, GenYus. There are no sheep in that picture.

[GenYus234]

The sheep in New Zealand are very good at hiding.

[Dasla]

Originally Posted by ChasFink

I was going to say it can't be Australia because there are no Kookaburras, but then I realized they only live in the jungle.

From the above article.

The laugh sounds great and really puts in the right mood for a mysterious adventure set in an impenetrable jungle.

No, not it doesn't. It makes you go

The sound effect is quite bemusing for Australians who are used to hearing the sound.

They got that right.

Oh and I wanted to tell you all that our dangerous animals prefer foreigners, especially Americans.

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

The sheep in New Zealand are very good at hiding.

Especially the swish-sheep, who developed the strange mechanism called swishing to avoid attacks by drop-bears...

One moment you're looking at what seems to be a field filled with normal sheep, then swish, all you see is an empty field. (or not, depending on if you now have a drop-bear on your head)

[ChasFink]

Originally Posted by Dasla

Oh and I wanted to tell you all that our dangerous animals prefer foreigners, especially Americans.

This statement makes no sense. Any true American will tell you that "foreigners" means people who aren't Americans.

[SatansHobbit]

"But I'm not a for..." were the last words ChasFink ever uttered, as the bunyip latched onto him.

[ChasFink]

Hey, I figured out why this picture was connected to Australia. The proud-to-be-Australian bedding firm Jason posted it with the "Slot Canyons in Australia" caption to bring attention to their homeland, making all us potential tourists think there are remarkable sights like this down under.

This is now known as the legendary story of Jason and the Argonath.

[GenYus234]

I don't think that was that good of a joke, but I salute the vast amount of effort you took to make it.

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by GenYus234

I don't think that was that good of a joke, but I salute the vast amount of effort you took to make it.

You're just upset you didn't think of it yourself...

[ChasFink]

Of course the motivation for Jason to promote Australian tourism was to counteract the bad press they got when some of their Australian wool quilts were found to be infested with a very rare one of those deadly Australian creatures. They're tiny, metallic-looking insects, commonly known as the golden fleas.

Thank you - I'll be here all week!

[GenYus234]

Originally Posted by Alarm

You're just upset you didn't think of it yourself...

Fair cop.and letters

[Alarm]

Originally Posted by ChasFink

Of course the motivation for Jason to promote Australian tourism was to counteract the bad press they got when some of their Australian wool quilts were found to be infested with a very rare one of those deadly Australian creatures. They're tiny, metallic-looking insects, commonly known as the golden fleas.

Thank you - I'll be here all week!

With those kinds of jokes, it's pretty clear you'll be there all week because no one is willing to give you a ride home...

[Dasla]

Originally Posted by ChasFink

Of course the motivation for Jason to promote Australian tourism was to counteract the bad press they got when some of their Australian wool quilts were found to be infested with a very rare one of those deadly Australian creatures. They're tiny, metallic-looking insects, commonly known as the golden fleas.

Thank you - I'll be here all week!

Originally Posted by Alarm

With those kinds of jokes, it's pretty clear you'll be there all week because no one is willing to give you a ride home...

Hee Hee Hee




Cause I did actually go hee hee hee