These photos show off production testing a scene for the barrel scenes for The Hobbit movie.
Here is a quote from the photographer...
Just sending you a few pics of the activity going on at the Aratiatia Rapids where they have started filming for the barrell scenes in The Hobbit, they had heaps of safety people there as pretty dangerous stuff, mostly all wound up when I took the pics, but shows the barrels they were using for when the Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves, rode the rapids in barrels to get away from the orcs I think it was. the barrels are pink so as to allow for them being digitalized apparently. the hyab truck was in place to maybe film up the rapids, anyway, they used both ends of the rapids to do the job, as you will see. there are big barrels on the truck, plus a small one, I guess for scaling for Hobbit size?? A couple of pics also of the crew, both safty and filming by the looks of it having smoko.