A friend of mine lives in NZ and saw the set!!!

He lives close to Hamilton NZ.
He also saw the set at Waiouru.

What he said:
"Well, Waiouru is where they were shooting the desert scenes.... and the battle scenes.

They built their own hillside village...."

And he hasn't even read LoTR!!!!
The filmmakers do this on purpose I'm sure...filming where there are no hardcore fans