Botanic Gardens, Te Papa Museum & LOTR Tour

Embassy Theatre
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We really enjoyed the 3 days in windy Wellington and both thought it was a nice city. Its based around a harbour and its modern and imaginative but mixed nicely with historical buildings, all framed by large green hills. We arrived at lunch time on the 28th Dec from Palmerston North and checked into YHA Wellington City where we had a 4 bed dorm. I n the afternoon we visited the very grand Embassy Theatre where LOTR - return of the king was premiered. After, we walked into the Civic Square wuth its large suspended sphere of metal fern leaves, before making our way to catch a Wellington cable car (tram to you and me) up to the Botanic Gardens. We had good views of the city and harbour from the top and then we strolled through the different gardens looking at the huge variety of plants and sculptures. We caught the cabel car back down and walked back to the hostel via Frank Kitts Park on the harbour front. Meg got an email giving her the great but surprising news that Liam and Katharine got engaged on xmas day and also that she was to be a bridesmaid. Later we went to the Embassy Theatre where we shared some popcorn and watched 'The Queen' movie. On the 29th we had a look at some of the city's attractions. We started by walking up though Lambton to the parliament buildings including the 'Beehive' which are in the north of the city. Next was a brief look at Wellington Cathedral which isnt very nice, before we looked at the previous cathedral, Old St Pauls which is far more attractive. We walked back through the city centre through Cuba Street which is known for its unusal stores and selection of cafes. We browsed in a few of the bizarre stores and then went to the harbour where we had a drink in the really nice Macs Brewery, bar and restaurant which was a former harbour shed. After eating lunch on the front we spent three hours looking around the Te Papa museum (NZ national museum) which was really interesting, modern and innovative. We strolleda round most of the different sections, finding the natural history and the Maori culture the most interesting. The full whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling was amazing...so bloody big! We went on a full day LOTR tour on our last day in Wellington. The guide was so knowledgeable about all aspects of the trilogy from the ridiculous detail about film sets to hidden meanings in the use of colour and direction, but he was a complete geek! We were taken all over the city and to the surrounding areas to see numerous filming locations and at each one we were shown film shots/set plans and were giving great details of the film sets and how images from all over NZ were pieced together to form the final images seen in the films. We also went to see the Weta Works Studios in Miramar where all of the special effects were done - a small and modest looking place. We had a drink in the charmingly quirky Chocolate Fish Cafe where the cast used to hang out when living in the nearby lovely area of Scorching Bay. Later in the day we ate lunch in Rivendell (yes its actaully been named that now) in Kaitoke Regional Park and then visited the sight where it was built and we took it in turns to don elf ears and recreate the Legolas pose! We got a souvenir poster at the end and a bottle of Sobering thoughts beer (a larger specifically brewed for use in LOTR). It was a good tour adn we learnt so much about the trilogy and the extraordinary detail and lengths they went to in making the films - mind boggling!