Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Exploring Wellington
Hi there everyone! Francesca here.
Well, we have ended up staying WAY longer in Wellington than we planned. That is what is fantastic about the way we are traveling; if we really like a certain area, we can adjust our plans to explore it more! Nothing is set in stone. :P Thankfully, tonight being our 6th night, we get a bit of a discount here at Wellywood – not much, but every bit counts on a trip this long!
Let me tell you about our day of exploration here in Wellington. We managed to get started around noon with a visit back to (our now favourite spot) Great India for a delicious and filling lunch. For only $10 NZD (that’s about $6.30 USD) they give you a curry entrée, your choice of rice (delicious coconut rice for us!) and two huge pieces of naan bread. Definitely much better than fast food, yet costs about the same...
Next we strolled through the main shopping and entertainment areas of Wellington – filled with a ton of young, modern clothing stores and an eclectic mix of cuisines to sample. In a strange way, the artsy yet hip spirit reminded me of a downtown Manhattan Soho vibe… without so much ‘hustle and bustle,’ of course. We took our time walking, arriving at our destination a little under two hours after we started.
That destination was the famously old (over 100 years old!) Wellington cable car! On our first evening in Wellington, the hostel receptionist suggested we take the 5 minute cable car ride up to the top. At the end of the car ride sits a museum dedicated to the history of the Cable Car, which we’d be sure to go see in order to complete our experience.
A little of what we learned from the museum: The Wellington Cable Car was thought up in 1898 by the Directors of The Upland Estate Company to provide transport facilities in the form of a Cable tram between their proposed residential subdivision and the City. Once approved, the real work began on the tram line in 1899 using prison labour from The Terrace Gaol. Three shifts worked around the clock to construct the system, digging 3 tunnels via pick and shovel. Finally, in 1902, work is completed and the Cable Car starts operation and proves an instant success with over 425,000 passenger trips on the cable car in the first year.
One of the issues the Cable Car had to deal with was the dramatic difference between demand for uphill and downhill tickets. A hundred years ago, many people who dreaded the steep hike up (and would thus take the car) enjoyed the walk down (passing on taking the car for a scenic stroll) – thus the company charged only half-price for tickets down. We had bought return tickets, however once we reached the top, we decided to follow suit with those from the past and take the 40 minute walk down to the city through the Wellington Botanical Gardens instead.
Divided into various sections, the walk downhill through the gardens was beautiful. There was even a section dedicated to endangered and rare plants; we couldn’t resist taking pictures of the weirdest ones! After a while we found a playground with some slides, which I jumped in with a passion. Unfortunately, I did not listen to Henk's warning that the slide would be wet from the rain...
Around halfway through our walk we came across a duck pond. I tried to ‘play’ with the ducks (although, for some reason, they didn’t seem to like me that much!) as Henk looked on and took pictures. I would love to have spent more time in the gardens, however, it was a rainy day and thus we tried not to take too much time and risk being stuck in a downpour. We hurried down the pathway, crossed through a memorial park (a.k.a. a graveyard!) and made our way to the Beehive.
The ‘Beehive’ is the nickname for New Zealand’s parliament building in Wellington. Obviously, the building is named for its looks! Here I am attempting to buzz like a bee outside it. Every hour, free tours are offered at the Beehive, and we just ended up making the 3:00 pm tour. For still being under the executive crown of the British government, New Zealand sure has quite a lot of national representation for their citizens. For the 4 million inhabitants of New Zealand, there are 120 representatives in their unicameral parliament.
New Zealand’s political system works like this: every Kiwi is allowed two votes during their elections. The first is a party vote – you pick a party to represent your views. Second is a representative vote, or a vote for the person you would like to represent your area. This system, we were informed, allows for a very diverse representative house, with a lot of minority parties gaining seats and thus a voice for their views.
Being such a small nation has even more advantages on the political sphere for minorities. The parliament holds regular committee meetings on certain bills before they are put up to vote, and during these meetings, the details of the law are negotiated. Notices for these committee meetings are printed in newspapers, and anyone with a strong view on a certain issue can write in and request to be put in a ‘lottery’ of sorts for the particular meeting. If you are selected, you are granted a 20-minute presentation in front of the politicians writing the bill stating your own views, complete with a Q & A session on bill particulars with them. Usually, we were told by our guide, bills are not changed in any major way as a result of these presentations but are very often edited in minor ways to address citizens’ concerns.
We were brought all over the Beehive – into the committee meeting rooms, through the Maori decorated halls and gothic-themed entrance ways, the politicians’ research libraries, and even down to the floor of the House of Representatives itself. While we were on the floor, our guide explained the two ways their politicians vote on bills. One was the familiar ‘party vote,’ (a.k.a. ‘I vote the way my party tells me to vote’) and the second was a ‘conscience vote.’ The latter involves each member of parliament getting up from their seats during the vote and choosing in front of their peers to either walk through the door on the left to vote ‘Noes,’ or the door on the right for ‘Ayes.’ I was thoroughly impressed by the amount of representation New Zealanders seem to have by the time the tour concluded.
On the way home, we grabbed some hot chocolate from Starbucks and feasted on our brownies leftover from the LOTR tour the day before. We decided to relax that evening and watch Tropic Thunder! From our time here in Wellington, I can conclude that Wellington is an awesome city… AND you guys should really come check it out!!
Francesca
Well, we have ended up staying WAY longer in Wellington than we planned. That is what is fantastic about the way we are traveling; if we really like a certain area, we can adjust our plans to explore it more! Nothing is set in stone. :P Thankfully, tonight being our 6th night, we get a bit of a discount here at Wellywood – not much, but every bit counts on a trip this long!
Let me tell you about our day of exploration here in Wellington. We managed to get started around noon with a visit back to (our now favourite spot) Great India for a delicious and filling lunch. For only $10 NZD (that’s about $6.30 USD) they give you a curry entrée, your choice of rice (delicious coconut rice for us!) and two huge pieces of naan bread. Definitely much better than fast food, yet costs about the same...
Next we strolled through the main shopping and entertainment areas of Wellington – filled with a ton of young, modern clothing stores and an eclectic mix of cuisines to sample. In a strange way, the artsy yet hip spirit reminded me of a downtown Manhattan Soho vibe… without so much ‘hustle and bustle,’ of course. We took our time walking, arriving at our destination a little under two hours after we started.
That destination was the famously old (over 100 years old!) Wellington cable car! On our first evening in Wellington, the hostel receptionist suggested we take the 5 minute cable car ride up to the top. At the end of the car ride sits a museum dedicated to the history of the Cable Car, which we’d be sure to go see in order to complete our experience.
A little of what we learned from the museum: The Wellington Cable Car was thought up in 1898 by the Directors of The Upland Estate Company to provide transport facilities in the form of a Cable tram between their proposed residential subdivision and the City. Once approved, the real work began on the tram line in 1899 using prison labour from The Terrace Gaol. Three shifts worked around the clock to construct the system, digging 3 tunnels via pick and shovel. Finally, in 1902, work is completed and the Cable Car starts operation and proves an instant success with over 425,000 passenger trips on the cable car in the first year.
One of the issues the Cable Car had to deal with was the dramatic difference between demand for uphill and downhill tickets. A hundred years ago, many people who dreaded the steep hike up (and would thus take the car) enjoyed the walk down (passing on taking the car for a scenic stroll) – thus the company charged only half-price for tickets down. We had bought return tickets, however once we reached the top, we decided to follow suit with those from the past and take the 40 minute walk down to the city through the Wellington Botanical Gardens instead.
Divided into various sections, the walk downhill through the gardens was beautiful. There was even a section dedicated to endangered and rare plants; we couldn’t resist taking pictures of the weirdest ones! After a while we found a playground with some slides, which I jumped in with a passion. Unfortunately, I did not listen to Henk's warning that the slide would be wet from the rain...
Around halfway through our walk we came across a duck pond. I tried to ‘play’ with the ducks (although, for some reason, they didn’t seem to like me that much!) as Henk looked on and took pictures. I would love to have spent more time in the gardens, however, it was a rainy day and thus we tried not to take too much time and risk being stuck in a downpour. We hurried down the pathway, crossed through a memorial park (a.k.a. a graveyard!) and made our way to the Beehive.
The ‘Beehive’ is the nickname for New Zealand’s parliament building in Wellington. Obviously, the building is named for its looks! Here I am attempting to buzz like a bee outside it. Every hour, free tours are offered at the Beehive, and we just ended up making the 3:00 pm tour. For still being under the executive crown of the British government, New Zealand sure has quite a lot of national representation for their citizens. For the 4 million inhabitants of New Zealand, there are 120 representatives in their unicameral parliament.
New Zealand’s political system works like this: every Kiwi is allowed two votes during their elections. The first is a party vote – you pick a party to represent your views. Second is a representative vote, or a vote for the person you would like to represent your area. This system, we were informed, allows for a very diverse representative house, with a lot of minority parties gaining seats and thus a voice for their views.
Being such a small nation has even more advantages on the political sphere for minorities. The parliament holds regular committee meetings on certain bills before they are put up to vote, and during these meetings, the details of the law are negotiated. Notices for these committee meetings are printed in newspapers, and anyone with a strong view on a certain issue can write in and request to be put in a ‘lottery’ of sorts for the particular meeting. If you are selected, you are granted a 20-minute presentation in front of the politicians writing the bill stating your own views, complete with a Q & A session on bill particulars with them. Usually, we were told by our guide, bills are not changed in any major way as a result of these presentations but are very often edited in minor ways to address citizens’ concerns.
We were brought all over the Beehive – into the committee meeting rooms, through the Maori decorated halls and gothic-themed entrance ways, the politicians’ research libraries, and even down to the floor of the House of Representatives itself. While we were on the floor, our guide explained the two ways their politicians vote on bills. One was the familiar ‘party vote,’ (a.k.a. ‘I vote the way my party tells me to vote’) and the second was a ‘conscience vote.’ The latter involves each member of parliament getting up from their seats during the vote and choosing in front of their peers to either walk through the door on the left to vote ‘Noes,’ or the door on the right for ‘Ayes.’ I was thoroughly impressed by the amount of representation New Zealanders seem to have by the time the tour concluded.
On the way home, we grabbed some hot chocolate from Starbucks and feasted on our brownies leftover from the LOTR tour the day before. We decided to relax that evening and watch Tropic Thunder! From our time here in Wellington, I can conclude that Wellington is an awesome city… AND you guys should really come check it out!!
Francesca
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Lord of the Rings Tour
Together we sat at the table. Grave faces all around. We heard him speak: "Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor." We smiled; we knew we were where we were supposed to be. The speaker continued: "Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall." We looked at each other and knew we had to help. The speaker asked who wished to join the Fellowship. We raised our hands. "Eleven companions… So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!"
We were picked up for intensive preparation this morning by our hobbit-like guide around 08:40AM. His name is unbeknownst to me, so I shall simply refer to him as “Gollum.” Gollum was supposed to be our guide, the one to lead us through this adventure. Today he would prepare us for our adventure by showing us the vast lands surrounding Wellington, so my companion and I could see what we were in for. We shared our names and told him stories of our homelands, far, far away. We talked briefly with some Hobbits and a wise old Wizard; there was also a Dwarf, as well as an Elf, and even two Humans. And then there was us. We shall remain unnamed.
Our first stop was Mt. Victoria, named after the British Queen, who conveniently is also called Victoria. We stopped at the top for a view of the city. What a magnificent sight to see a city so spread out, all along the different coastlines with very few high buildings. Wellington is home to about 750.000 inhabitants. This capital was nothing like our own, but definitely looked liked something we could get used to.
Gollum led us to a track that wound around the mountain and not long after he showed us the first point of interest: the spot where the Hobbits roll down the hill after finding some mushrooms shortly after leaving The Shire. Frodo ignores his friends, peering off into the distance. My curly-haired partner copied the pose and I took a few snapshots.
Just a little further on the same track Gollum showed us the location where the Hobbits jumped off the track again to hide from the hunting Ringwraiths. He told us the story of the making of the set here. There wasn’t actually a tree trunk to hide under, so they made one on the track. Sounds pretty expensive for such a short scene, but we guessed that Peter Jackson had a little cash to splash.
After a short downhill walk, just off a sidetrack stood the tree that Frodo and Sam sit in when they hear the sound of Elves singing in the distance. We stopped here for a few photos as well. Gollum gave us a pipe made out of a twig and a pine cone. I grabbed another twig to hold in my hand, just like Sam.
We also saw the field Aragorn and Theoden look over when they’ve gathered their troops around Dunharrow. Gollum explained how PJ had added some mountains from the South Island to the background, and how a nearby pub disappeared under some foliage.
Finally, Gollum showed us the location of one of the more famous covers for the books: a horsed Wraith in the shadow is seen at the top of a path; with backlight illuminating the horse’s hot breath and glistening sweat, and its rider’s lack thereof. I walked up the path with two unnamed companions and reenacted said scene with great valor.
Gollum took us away from danger by leading us to Dry Creek Quarry. Peter Jackson had some trouble obtaining rights to film at this location because it is an active quarry. The owner would rather keep working and making money, however, PJ asked him to tell him how much profit he would make in a year. The owner calculated the amount, and then tripled that. PJ just smiled and said yes. After he successfully negotiated the rent he first turned the place into Helm’s Deep, and later Minas Tirith. Also, most of the extras used for these scenes were soldiers from the New Zealand Army. Most of the scenes shot here took place in wintertime, so PJ needed strong, sturdy men.
A quick drive took us into Kaitoke Regional Park, a beautifully scenic park largely covered in temperate rainforest. Gollum told us a remarkable story: Peter Jackson had asked cricket fans during an international match between England and New Zealand to chant words projected on a screen and to clap to get the sounds for Saruman’s army. It was amazing to hear how inventive directors have to be to get some of their material. Arriving on the spot, Gollum set us loose and we dispersed. We walked over a wobbly bridge to see the spot where Eomer finds Theodred on the riverbanks, after he’s been badly injured by Orcs (only in the Extended Editions).
More importantly though, Kaitoke is the home of Rivendell. A big signpost led us to a denser part of the forest that indeed reminded us of rustic Rivendell. My companion was most interested in a tree known as Legolas’ tree. Remember that shot where he peers off into the distance, standing next to a tall tree? We got to stand next to that tree, dressed up and all!
Unfortunately, it was raining rather heavily, so Gollum took us back to our transport. He had given us some Lembas bread and drinks, so we were good to go for some more exploring. We headed back towards Wellington, stopping one more time before reaching our goal. Gollum showed us Harcourt Park, the park used to shoot the scenes in the Gardens of Isengard. It was also used for Orthanc, the mighty tower of Saruman. And remember the scene where the Orcs pull down a tree? That scene was shot right there! Finally, the park was also used for the talk Saruman and Gandalf have in the Gardens, before Saruman becomes a baddie.
Gollum thought we had seen enough for a while, so he drove us to the center of Wellington for an Orc-sized lunch. He stopped at a cute, little place called Pandoro. My companion and I shared a chicken mushroom Panini and a salami Ciabatta. The two of us warmed up with two large hot chocolates that tasted fantastic. After we were done eating we also got to pick up some nibbles for later that day. My companion opted for the American chocolate fudge brownie whereas I chose the white chocolate brownie. Fueled up and ready to go we jumped back in our van.
Gollum then drove us to a suburb of Wellington called Miramar. Miramar is home to Weta Digital, the company that did the special effects for Lord of the Rings. We got to go into their little museum, dedicated to their past achievements. Our little fellowship saw artifacts from movies such as Braindead, King Kong, Black Sheep and, of course, Lord of the Rings. They also showed us a video of their different branches: miniatures, clothes, weapons, digital imagery and painting. It was quite impressive to see how they went from the rather unique style they had when they started off with Bad Taste, and how much they’ve progressed in the following years.
After spending a good hour in the Weta Cave we were also shown a gigantic bluescreen built by Weta. They used shipping containers to create an enormous wall, and then covered those. They actually painted it different colors several times. They also managed to park the ship used in King Kong in front of the screen; it was a 1:1 replica of the real thing. Impressive stuff!
The weather really hadn’t gotten any better, so Gollum pretty much just drove us around pointing out places that had something to do with Lord of the Rings. We saw Peter Jackson’s house; a pretty unassuming place along the coastline. It was weird to see how there was virtually no security as we drove right up to his house.
We also drove around in another suburb called Seatoun. Seatoun was named by a Scottish guy that wanted a town along the shore: Seatown. However, being Scottish and sporting an accent, nobody understood he said ‘town,’ so people thought he had called it Seatoun. Seatoun was the place used as the village of Bree. It’s also the spot where Orlando Bloom learned how to shoot the bow and arrow. Not much was left of the work they did down there, but since Gollum carried pictures of how it once was we could imagine the work that it must’ve taken to set something like that up.
Leaving Seatoun, we passed Breaker Bay on our way back to the city. Gollum pointed out another area that was used for the Dunharrow-shots. This was the land that was used to pitch up the tents for King Theoden and his followers. He showed us pictures of the tents that they used, and how much work they had to do digitally to make the material look decent. Amazing to see how much editing still goes into a movie after shooting it.
Our final stop before heading back to the city was Owhiro Bay. This bay was pretty unique to Peter Jackson because the hills right behind it are not covered in grass, and actually left rocky. It proved to be the ideal place to shoot the scene where Sam rolls down the hill in front of a passing army of Sauron. Frodo slides down after him and covers them both with their Elvish cloaks.
On our way back Gollum told us about the plans for the filming of The Hobbit, which is set to start sometime next year. A few of the cast members of Lord of the Rings will be joining again. Guilermo del Toro will be the director with Peter Jackson as executive producer. They’ll be shooting for little over a year to capture all the scenes, with a lot of digital editing still to be done (think Smaug or the Goblin Kingdom) for the two movies that they plan on making. Sounds exciting, so let’s hope it works out for them!
Around 16:30PM Gollum dropped us off at our castle. We felt prepared for our upcoming adventure with the Fellowship. We said goodbye to Gollum, ready for some sleep, and excited for the dangers and thrills that were to come.
Signing off,
Mysterious Fellow and Curly-haired Companion
We were picked up for intensive preparation this morning by our hobbit-like guide around 08:40AM. His name is unbeknownst to me, so I shall simply refer to him as “Gollum.” Gollum was supposed to be our guide, the one to lead us through this adventure. Today he would prepare us for our adventure by showing us the vast lands surrounding Wellington, so my companion and I could see what we were in for. We shared our names and told him stories of our homelands, far, far away. We talked briefly with some Hobbits and a wise old Wizard; there was also a Dwarf, as well as an Elf, and even two Humans. And then there was us. We shall remain unnamed.
Our first stop was Mt. Victoria, named after the British Queen, who conveniently is also called Victoria. We stopped at the top for a view of the city. What a magnificent sight to see a city so spread out, all along the different coastlines with very few high buildings. Wellington is home to about 750.000 inhabitants. This capital was nothing like our own, but definitely looked liked something we could get used to.
Gollum led us to a track that wound around the mountain and not long after he showed us the first point of interest: the spot where the Hobbits roll down the hill after finding some mushrooms shortly after leaving The Shire. Frodo ignores his friends, peering off into the distance. My curly-haired partner copied the pose and I took a few snapshots.
Just a little further on the same track Gollum showed us the location where the Hobbits jumped off the track again to hide from the hunting Ringwraiths. He told us the story of the making of the set here. There wasn’t actually a tree trunk to hide under, so they made one on the track. Sounds pretty expensive for such a short scene, but we guessed that Peter Jackson had a little cash to splash.
After a short downhill walk, just off a sidetrack stood the tree that Frodo and Sam sit in when they hear the sound of Elves singing in the distance. We stopped here for a few photos as well. Gollum gave us a pipe made out of a twig and a pine cone. I grabbed another twig to hold in my hand, just like Sam.
We also saw the field Aragorn and Theoden look over when they’ve gathered their troops around Dunharrow. Gollum explained how PJ had added some mountains from the South Island to the background, and how a nearby pub disappeared under some foliage.
Finally, Gollum showed us the location of one of the more famous covers for the books: a horsed Wraith in the shadow is seen at the top of a path; with backlight illuminating the horse’s hot breath and glistening sweat, and its rider’s lack thereof. I walked up the path with two unnamed companions and reenacted said scene with great valor.
Gollum took us away from danger by leading us to Dry Creek Quarry. Peter Jackson had some trouble obtaining rights to film at this location because it is an active quarry. The owner would rather keep working and making money, however, PJ asked him to tell him how much profit he would make in a year. The owner calculated the amount, and then tripled that. PJ just smiled and said yes. After he successfully negotiated the rent he first turned the place into Helm’s Deep, and later Minas Tirith. Also, most of the extras used for these scenes were soldiers from the New Zealand Army. Most of the scenes shot here took place in wintertime, so PJ needed strong, sturdy men.
A quick drive took us into Kaitoke Regional Park, a beautifully scenic park largely covered in temperate rainforest. Gollum told us a remarkable story: Peter Jackson had asked cricket fans during an international match between England and New Zealand to chant words projected on a screen and to clap to get the sounds for Saruman’s army. It was amazing to hear how inventive directors have to be to get some of their material. Arriving on the spot, Gollum set us loose and we dispersed. We walked over a wobbly bridge to see the spot where Eomer finds Theodred on the riverbanks, after he’s been badly injured by Orcs (only in the Extended Editions).
More importantly though, Kaitoke is the home of Rivendell. A big signpost led us to a denser part of the forest that indeed reminded us of rustic Rivendell. My companion was most interested in a tree known as Legolas’ tree. Remember that shot where he peers off into the distance, standing next to a tall tree? We got to stand next to that tree, dressed up and all!
Unfortunately, it was raining rather heavily, so Gollum took us back to our transport. He had given us some Lembas bread and drinks, so we were good to go for some more exploring. We headed back towards Wellington, stopping one more time before reaching our goal. Gollum showed us Harcourt Park, the park used to shoot the scenes in the Gardens of Isengard. It was also used for Orthanc, the mighty tower of Saruman. And remember the scene where the Orcs pull down a tree? That scene was shot right there! Finally, the park was also used for the talk Saruman and Gandalf have in the Gardens, before Saruman becomes a baddie.
Gollum thought we had seen enough for a while, so he drove us to the center of Wellington for an Orc-sized lunch. He stopped at a cute, little place called Pandoro. My companion and I shared a chicken mushroom Panini and a salami Ciabatta. The two of us warmed up with two large hot chocolates that tasted fantastic. After we were done eating we also got to pick up some nibbles for later that day. My companion opted for the American chocolate fudge brownie whereas I chose the white chocolate brownie. Fueled up and ready to go we jumped back in our van.
Gollum then drove us to a suburb of Wellington called Miramar. Miramar is home to Weta Digital, the company that did the special effects for Lord of the Rings. We got to go into their little museum, dedicated to their past achievements. Our little fellowship saw artifacts from movies such as Braindead, King Kong, Black Sheep and, of course, Lord of the Rings. They also showed us a video of their different branches: miniatures, clothes, weapons, digital imagery and painting. It was quite impressive to see how they went from the rather unique style they had when they started off with Bad Taste, and how much they’ve progressed in the following years.
After spending a good hour in the Weta Cave we were also shown a gigantic bluescreen built by Weta. They used shipping containers to create an enormous wall, and then covered those. They actually painted it different colors several times. They also managed to park the ship used in King Kong in front of the screen; it was a 1:1 replica of the real thing. Impressive stuff!
The weather really hadn’t gotten any better, so Gollum pretty much just drove us around pointing out places that had something to do with Lord of the Rings. We saw Peter Jackson’s house; a pretty unassuming place along the coastline. It was weird to see how there was virtually no security as we drove right up to his house.
We also drove around in another suburb called Seatoun. Seatoun was named by a Scottish guy that wanted a town along the shore: Seatown. However, being Scottish and sporting an accent, nobody understood he said ‘town,’ so people thought he had called it Seatoun. Seatoun was the place used as the village of Bree. It’s also the spot where Orlando Bloom learned how to shoot the bow and arrow. Not much was left of the work they did down there, but since Gollum carried pictures of how it once was we could imagine the work that it must’ve taken to set something like that up.
Leaving Seatoun, we passed Breaker Bay on our way back to the city. Gollum pointed out another area that was used for the Dunharrow-shots. This was the land that was used to pitch up the tents for King Theoden and his followers. He showed us pictures of the tents that they used, and how much work they had to do digitally to make the material look decent. Amazing to see how much editing still goes into a movie after shooting it.
Our final stop before heading back to the city was Owhiro Bay. This bay was pretty unique to Peter Jackson because the hills right behind it are not covered in grass, and actually left rocky. It proved to be the ideal place to shoot the scene where Sam rolls down the hill in front of a passing army of Sauron. Frodo slides down after him and covers them both with their Elvish cloaks.
On our way back Gollum told us about the plans for the filming of The Hobbit, which is set to start sometime next year. A few of the cast members of Lord of the Rings will be joining again. Guilermo del Toro will be the director with Peter Jackson as executive producer. They’ll be shooting for little over a year to capture all the scenes, with a lot of digital editing still to be done (think Smaug or the Goblin Kingdom) for the two movies that they plan on making. Sounds exciting, so let’s hope it works out for them!
Around 16:30PM Gollum dropped us off at our castle. We felt prepared for our upcoming adventure with the Fellowship. We said goodbye to Gollum, ready for some sleep, and excited for the dangers and thrills that were to come.
Signing off,
Mysterious Fellow and Curly-haired Companion
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Windy Wellington
Welcome to ‘Windy Wellington’ everyone! For the time we’ve been in New Zealand, I’ve seen amazingly beautiful and eclectic landscapes, and small cities each with their own unique character. Then we came to Wellington. Awesome city! Lots of cool stores to shop in, really cool places to eat, plenty of beautiful scenic water spots, and everything is SO artsy! Really interesting city!!
We arrived in Wellington after traveling all morning – our bus didn’t do much touring on the way, it was basically an ‘express’ bus from National Park to Wellington since the trip itself wasn’t a short one. It must have taken around 4 or 5 hours (including some scenic stops) to drive the whole way.
Shortly after leaving National Park (around 9:30 am) we made our first mini-stop. During our drive into Ohakune, our guide told us the first thing that was required of us was to take a picture with the huge carrot by the side of the road; of course, we didn’t deny doing that! For some reason, carrots are huge in Ohakune; they have tons of festivals and competitions involving carrots there.
Next, we stopped at the Gumboot Manor in Taihape to grab a mid-morning snack. While it was still a bit early for lunch, Henk and I were feeling a bit Hawaiian and split a ham, cheese, and pineapple sandwich and some chips. After placing our order – surprise – we were given a cool ‘flag’ to bring to our table until it was ready: a mini gumboot! (I might have had a little fun with that!)
After Gumboot Manor, we took some photographs at one of the spots of a famous scene from Lord of the Rings trilogy: Remember when Arwen controlled the water from the river, parting it to let Frodo cross safely to the other side, then letting the water rush back in to knock the ring wraiths and their horses off their feet? Yep, this is the river where that scene was filmed! Take a look. The view is just stunning.
Before arriving in Wellington, we took a final stop in a town called Bulls. During World War II, the town was an exporter of milk to the soldiers. Obviously, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the town, this resulted in quite a few laughs… all of the packaging for the milk was labelled “Milk from Bulls.” I didn’t know this at the time (Henk informed me later) but every store and sign in the town makes sure to include the word “Bull” in their marketing: for example, one of the candy stores is called ‘Irresist-I-Bull’ and one of the clothing stores is called ‘Labulls;’ even the cops get in on the action – the police station labels themselves ‘Const-A-Bull.’
Finally, around 2 pm in the afternoon, we got into Wellington and got checked into the Nomads here in the city. All of the rooms in the hostel are ensuite, so we were stuck paying a hefty sum for our first night, and resolved to map out and visit other hostels the next morning to find something a bit cheaper. For the rest of the night, we walked around for a bit attempting to find hostels, made a quick grocery store run and had a cheap pasta bake from the hostel bar… (it was filling, at least, but a bit cold) then finished the evening relaxing with some reality TV episodes of Daisy of Love. (Good show for when you really, reeeeally don’t want to utilize those brain cells!)
The next morning we checked out of our hostel, grabbed some breakfast, and tossed our luggage into the storage room. Again we decided to look for the hostels. As we started walking, we realized that Wellington is an extremely artsy city! One of their bridges near the water was wood-carved with the shapes of whales and birds. Furthermore, there was a really cool fountain which created small mountains of foam. Of course we didn’t pass up the chance to play in that! As we were walking along the Wellington Harbour, I spotted a memorial I had to have a picture with since my grandfather is a former US Marine; the memorial celebrated the United States Marines and their arrival in New Zealand: ‘…To Serve In The Pacific Theatre Of War.’ Towards the end of our harbour walk, Henk spotted a huge slide in the park and insistent I go on it so he could take some pictures. Here you go!
After a while exploring, we still didn’t find anything hostel-wise, (but got a good walk around some interesting parts of the city) so we decided to visit the Te Papa museum. Free to enter, we started at the first floor, and then went to the top and worked our way down each level. The museum is an interesting mix as far as museums go – it was part science, part history, part art! We learned about the colossal squid, (and created our own squids on computers!) found out even more about Maori culture, (including taking pictures in a life-sized marae (Maori meeting house) and saw some cool modern photography based on traditional Maori imagery.
After the museum, we finally looked at some hostels for the next few nights. We settled on Wellywood – a pretty cool ‘Hollywood in Wellington’ themed hostel, and about $30/night cheaper than Nomads. To celebrate our victory, we had an extremely delicious dinner at the award-winning (but surprisingly, relatively inexpensive) ‘Great India’ – curry, butter chicken, naan bread and coconut rice -- and we cleaned our plates completely! The best thing about Indian food: you have that completely full yet not ‘stuffed’ feeling after your meal! We highly recommend visiting this place if you’re ever in Wellington! Check it out: http://www.greatindia.co.nz
Our plan for today was to catch up on sleep – plus we accomplished seeing the movie Ice Age 3 in 3D! It’s so great to do some of those ‘everyday’ things on a trip this long… I think we’d go pretty crazy otherwise! Tomorrow, we’ll probably do a city tour, and visit the Parliament ‘Bee-Hives.’ And we still have our Lord of the Rings tour coming up! So stay tuned!!
Thanks,
Francesca
We arrived in Wellington after traveling all morning – our bus didn’t do much touring on the way, it was basically an ‘express’ bus from National Park to Wellington since the trip itself wasn’t a short one. It must have taken around 4 or 5 hours (including some scenic stops) to drive the whole way.
Shortly after leaving National Park (around 9:30 am) we made our first mini-stop. During our drive into Ohakune, our guide told us the first thing that was required of us was to take a picture with the huge carrot by the side of the road; of course, we didn’t deny doing that! For some reason, carrots are huge in Ohakune; they have tons of festivals and competitions involving carrots there.
Next, we stopped at the Gumboot Manor in Taihape to grab a mid-morning snack. While it was still a bit early for lunch, Henk and I were feeling a bit Hawaiian and split a ham, cheese, and pineapple sandwich and some chips. After placing our order – surprise – we were given a cool ‘flag’ to bring to our table until it was ready: a mini gumboot! (I might have had a little fun with that!)
After Gumboot Manor, we took some photographs at one of the spots of a famous scene from Lord of the Rings trilogy: Remember when Arwen controlled the water from the river, parting it to let Frodo cross safely to the other side, then letting the water rush back in to knock the ring wraiths and their horses off their feet? Yep, this is the river where that scene was filmed! Take a look. The view is just stunning.
Before arriving in Wellington, we took a final stop in a town called Bulls. During World War II, the town was an exporter of milk to the soldiers. Obviously, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the town, this resulted in quite a few laughs… all of the packaging for the milk was labelled “Milk from Bulls.” I didn’t know this at the time (Henk informed me later) but every store and sign in the town makes sure to include the word “Bull” in their marketing: for example, one of the candy stores is called ‘Irresist-I-Bull’ and one of the clothing stores is called ‘Labulls;’ even the cops get in on the action – the police station labels themselves ‘Const-A-Bull.’
Finally, around 2 pm in the afternoon, we got into Wellington and got checked into the Nomads here in the city. All of the rooms in the hostel are ensuite, so we were stuck paying a hefty sum for our first night, and resolved to map out and visit other hostels the next morning to find something a bit cheaper. For the rest of the night, we walked around for a bit attempting to find hostels, made a quick grocery store run and had a cheap pasta bake from the hostel bar… (it was filling, at least, but a bit cold) then finished the evening relaxing with some reality TV episodes of Daisy of Love. (Good show for when you really, reeeeally don’t want to utilize those brain cells!)
The next morning we checked out of our hostel, grabbed some breakfast, and tossed our luggage into the storage room. Again we decided to look for the hostels. As we started walking, we realized that Wellington is an extremely artsy city! One of their bridges near the water was wood-carved with the shapes of whales and birds. Furthermore, there was a really cool fountain which created small mountains of foam. Of course we didn’t pass up the chance to play in that! As we were walking along the Wellington Harbour, I spotted a memorial I had to have a picture with since my grandfather is a former US Marine; the memorial celebrated the United States Marines and their arrival in New Zealand: ‘…To Serve In The Pacific Theatre Of War.’ Towards the end of our harbour walk, Henk spotted a huge slide in the park and insistent I go on it so he could take some pictures. Here you go!
After a while exploring, we still didn’t find anything hostel-wise, (but got a good walk around some interesting parts of the city) so we decided to visit the Te Papa museum. Free to enter, we started at the first floor, and then went to the top and worked our way down each level. The museum is an interesting mix as far as museums go – it was part science, part history, part art! We learned about the colossal squid, (and created our own squids on computers!) found out even more about Maori culture, (including taking pictures in a life-sized marae (Maori meeting house) and saw some cool modern photography based on traditional Maori imagery.
After the museum, we finally looked at some hostels for the next few nights. We settled on Wellywood – a pretty cool ‘Hollywood in Wellington’ themed hostel, and about $30/night cheaper than Nomads. To celebrate our victory, we had an extremely delicious dinner at the award-winning (but surprisingly, relatively inexpensive) ‘Great India’ – curry, butter chicken, naan bread and coconut rice -- and we cleaned our plates completely! The best thing about Indian food: you have that completely full yet not ‘stuffed’ feeling after your meal! We highly recommend visiting this place if you’re ever in Wellington! Check it out: http://www.greatindia.co.nz
Our plan for today was to catch up on sleep – plus we accomplished seeing the movie Ice Age 3 in 3D! It’s so great to do some of those ‘everyday’ things on a trip this long… I think we’d go pretty crazy otherwise! Tomorrow, we’ll probably do a city tour, and visit the Parliament ‘Bee-Hives.’ And we still have our Lord of the Rings tour coming up! So stay tuned!!
Thanks,
Francesca
