Sailing, sailing,: Two Full Days in Wellington

Friday, March 21, 2025

Two Full Days in Wellington

The Māori war canoes were so beautiful with intricate carving.

Our second much looked forward to Lord of the Rings day was the WETA all day tour in Wellington. I was still feeling rocky with my cold so we scheduled it for our second day there. An easier first day was spent at the National Te Papa Museum. It's a captivating blend of interactive exhibits, rich history and cultural treasures. We were staying at another Quest property, our third, and as before it was such a comfortable and fully equipped - and right downtown, It was easy to get an Uber and there were lots of restaurant choices.

The Gallipoli exhibit featured in depth stories of
men who served bravely in the action and their
lives afterwards. The WETA workshop did these
incredibly lifelike bigger than life statues.

The Māori paddles are like sculptures.

On boats like this they traveled huge distances.

The Te Papa is enormous so we concentrated on the Gallipoli Exhibit and the Māori History and Art. It's located right on the harbor downtown and has a viewing deck on the top floor as well as two cafes. The WETA workshop has contributed special effects throughout - several are in photos here. The Gallipoli exhibit detailed the disastrous decisions made by the top Great Britain brass that resulted in huge loss of life by solders of New Zealand and Australia. They were sent to Turkey and told it would be an easy win - the Turks were formidable and defending their own country. And then they were given the wrong beaches to land on! It was a blood bath.

The Māori History Exhibit was fascinating not only in the detail of their history before and after the Europeans arrived, but for showcasing their amazing art and culture. Later we had a great dinner at an Asian restaurant near our hotel. So good that we took out our meal for the following night knowing that it would be a long day and we'd be tired.

Wellington Harbor from Victoria Peak

And the day was long but SO good. We lucked out with our guide, Marc. He sailed his 25 foot boat from Guadeloupe to New Zealand and arrived just as Peter Jackson started work on the Lord of the Rings. He was immediately hired and played a major non speaking role as an Elf (in almost every scene with more than one elf) and as the Black Rider on the horse in the first movie! He has worked for WETA full time since then and has been involved with almost all their major movies, traveling all over the world with productions. He was fascinating with tons of stories of the filming and actors.

Our tour group was small enough so we always
had a front row view.

Recreating scenes from the movie was part of the
fun. Here Scott and another tour member are
frightened by the Black Rider.

And now it's my turn to be scared. Here in the
WETA workshop.

It was a reasonably small group in a small bus and we all had a fun time together. Our first stop was up Victoria Peak to see the film locations for the first film where the hobbits leave the Shire and flee the Black Riders. We also enjoyed the beautiful views of Wellington. Then off to the WETA workshop and a tour of the facility. We got to see a lot of the special effects and costuming, masks, weapons etc. In many cases we got to hold them and see them up close. The details and design is amazing.

Scott and I bravely fought off orcs with dwarf
friends.

Next we visited the site of the boat trip at the end of the Fellowship where they land and split up after the Orcs kidnap Merry and Pippin. By this time we were all ready for the excellent buffet lunch at a lovely restaurant surrounded by gardens. Then Rivendell, Isengard and Helms Deep locations. It was a full 8 hours of fun and beauty. And lots of photos - I can't even include a tenth. And I managed the long day and lots of walking despite my continuing cold. We were glad though to stay in that night as it was a very early morning to catch the ferry down to the south island. That's the next post!