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!

Scott recreates the famous Legolas poster image

Scott and I at the entrance to Rivendell.

The plains of Isenguard

Our terrific guide and former elf and Black Rider,
Marc.

The river Anduin

Heather gets to play Legolas

A Visit to Hobbiton "The Shire"

A section of the Alexander ranch outside the Shire.

Details often show the occupation of the Hobbit owners.
This was the Baker's and had sample wares. On the left was
a selection of preserves and honey.

Looking down from Bag End to the pond, Mill and the Green Dragon Inn

This post is mostly made up of photos. It was hard to chose which ones to include - there were so many great ones. But here's some info about the history.  The Alexander family moved to this 1,200 acre farm in 1978 and ran it as a livestock ranch with sheep and cattle. In 1998 Peter Jackson and Set Designer Alan Lee saw the property from a helicopter and recognized it's potential. After negotiations, they constructed the Shire - including road access and  hobbit holes, gardens, hedges, a double arched bridge, Mill, and a huge tree. It wasn't built to last and was cut down and restored to it's original condition after filming.

Two photos of Bag End, Bilbo & Frodo's home and the largest
of the Hobbit holes.

But then, the filming of the Hobbit trilogy was approved and further negotiations with the Alexander family resulted in it's being built in a permanent form. The Alexander family run the extensive business today with tours, and events. There are now 44 hobbit holes, two of which are open to the public and fully furnished and a replica of the Green Dragon Inn with a restaurant. 

The living room was so cozy with a fire burning!

The main bedroom with Scott looking like Gandalf
in Bag End (for sizing)

Could two young hobbits have a nicer bedroom??

A Hobbit's larder is very well supplied as the
sudden descent of the Dwarves resulted in
a fine meal!

The kitchen looked ready to provide a banquet!

Scott and I booked the first two hour tour of the day months ago and it was amazing. We were the first group on the hill so had it to ourselves at first. Our guide was fun and knowledgeable and we had plenty of time to explore and take photos. It is very beautiful and so well done. You feel like you could live there and easily imagine the hobbits doing so! And as you can see, the day was glorious with bright sunshine and about 73 degrees. Heaven - only wish we could have stayed much longer. That's all for this entry - next one we'll be in Wellington!

The bridge over the Mill run to the Green Dragon Inn

The Green Dragon Inn, now providing Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and that's it for now (unless you are here for a special event)

Looking up from the Green Dragon at Hobbiton.

The Mill - now an event space. 

Two Big Bumps in the Road

These next photos are all Scott's as I spent the rest of our time in Rotorua in our room. I'd say "in bed" but due to the cough I had difficulty lying down. He did our booked tour of the Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village. This area is known for its geothermal activity and geysers. It was first settled by the Maori in the 14th Century.

We ran into our first problem when we arrived at the Auckand Airport to pick up our rental car. It was supposed to be a one way down to Wellington. They couldn't find our reservation and on top of that they didn't have a car available. Scott talked to all the companies and they could only provide a local rental. One woman helped us out by explaining the bus alternative. We took one into Auckland and another one for the 4 hours down to Rotorua. The more miserable part of this solution was the next leg from Rotorua to Wellington which came three days later. The bus was supposed to take 7 hours but it actually took 8.5 and we didn't get into Wellington until 9:30 at night. 

This is a living Māori village where people live, using natural geothermal resources to cook, bathe and heat their homes as they have for centuries. 

That would have been bad enough but the second problem made it all much harder. Our first night in Rotorua I started a bad cold. It went straight to my chest. Let's admit from now on people keep as far away from us as they are able. That next morning was our tour of Hobbiton, one hour away. We had rented a local car to use around Rotorua and wild horses couldn't have kept me away from that much looked forward to event. It was wonderful and will be a separate blog post! But after we returned to our room I didn't leave it for 48 hours. Scott did the tour of the Maori village the next day, walked around Rotorua, ate meals out and toured the Redwood Tree Park. He hasn't caught it thank goodness. And then I had that long bus ride. I think if the other passengers were able, they would have taken another bus. And it was packed with seats as close together as the worst domestic airline. Scott had to keep his legs out in the corridor. 

So this is a short post to bring you into the picture. Good news, I felt well enough in Wellington to enjoy that beautiful city although a little less ambitious than it would have been. Two more entries will be appearing soon - one on Hobbiton and another on Wellington. Right now we're in Nelson on the South Island and I'm definitely better. I'll try now to catch up!

Hot pools are all over the village

Cooking sweet corn in the communal cooking
pool.

Typical home with carved wooden beams.

The Redwood Memorial Forest in Rotorua. These redwoods on 15 acres were planted in the early 20th Century to assess the viability of foreign timber in the country. The project originated as a response to the clear cutting of the New Zealand's native forest by the end of the 19th Century. They've done pretty well as you can see. 

 

Two Full Days in Auckland

The view towards the city on our hike up to the crater at Mt. Eden.

Scott did a special photo to take in the whole crater.

We stayed 3 nights and really made use of our two full days. Breakfast our first morning was rather special - we were up early and the closest breakfast place open was right next to our hotel. Cooke's is a fabled place and rather ritzy but served a very good breakfast. We then tried to get the 9 AM ferry over to Waiheke Island but it filled up before we got to the end of the huge line. In the afternoon we had reservations for a sail out on the harbor at 3:15 so we wisely went to plan B - Mt Eden. This is one of 48 volcanic domes in the city In 2014 after many years of litigation 14 of them were finally returned to their Maori owners. Mt Eden (Maungawhau) was the site of a Maori Pi, a large settlement built on terraces around the mountain. But the inside of the crater is never entered, being sacred. 

Looking back at the stairs and walkway around part of the crater.

It is now a park as are most of the other volcanic cones. There is a small museum and coffee shop at the parking lot and then you have a steep climb up to the top. Paths and stairs follow the edge of the crater all around and the views are spectacular. 

The sky was an impossible blue!

Someone is always asking if they can take 
your photo - and we usually accept.

And our afternoon adventure sailing out in the harbor was marvelous. Both of us got to take the helm for a good portion of the trip. Although the Courageous wasn't a America's Cup boat, it is of similar size. The Captain was quite charming and we enjoyed talking to the other passengers. Happily there was a lot of wind and we got water over the lee rail quite a bit.  After our experience trying to find a table for dinner the night before, we made reservations at White & Wong - excellent Asian cuisine. So good in fact that we took out a meal for the next night to have in our apartment. We knew it would be a long day out at Waiheke Island. 

I took the first shift at the wheel and brought her
under the bridge.

Captain Scott executed two tacks - turning the
boat into the wind. 

This time we were a half hour early for the ferry and had no problem. We also signed up for the Hop On Hop Off bus that takes you all over the island. We stopped at about half of the 12. Our first stop was Mudbrick Vineyard for a wine tasting. Due to the early timing we shared a wine tasting there. The couple that own it built the property from scratch in 1992. It is now a hotel/restaurants/event resort. The wine was wonderful and the place really spectacular. What a place for wedding - and they do lots of them. 

The entrance to Mudbrick. The day started out
cloudy but soon cleared up.

It was too early in the day for lunch unfortunately.

The road down from Mudbrick and you can see the lovely countryside!

Next was Allpress Olive Groves. The first olives tress were planted there in 1997 and they sell both olive oil (in a number of varieties), olives & olive tapenade, and local boney. We were able to test all of them and they were wonderful! We bought a bottle and a tapenade to bring to Julie & Peter in Australia. Our next stop was "Island Frenchies" Built in a container with outdoor seating it is famous for it's French style sandwiches, pastries, salads and their huge breakfast. 

The tasting at Allpress Olive Grove

Frenchies, a deceptively casual place with 
unusually good food.

After lunch and a walk through the small town of Oneroa, we continued on to a cluster of wineries and one distillery. We only had time for two stops so one more winery was chosen because it was the first one when we climbed the hill - Soho Family Vineyard. It was a very friendly place and the wine was excellent - we bought a bottle. 

The SoHo tasting room

The path up to Soho passed by a small pond.

And last Hexe, the distillery. Scott makes his own gin and was interested in trying theirs's and the whiskeys came with the tasting - all very good.  We added a Marguerita pizza to the order and kept half of it for the next day - breakfast in fact! Then we stayed on the bus until catching the ferry back. It had been a long day so we were happy that dinner was waiting at our apartment.  The next morning we're driving down to Rotorua - but problems lie ahead for us and that will be in my next post!

Hexe Distillery