Wellington NZ Part 2

IMG_2705 IMG_2706 IMG_2719Lord of the Rings, Hobbiton, Planet of the Apes, King Kong, District Nine, and dozens more…all are connected to Weta Cave and Weta Digital.  We made a visit to this amazing place when in Wellington.  You would never suspect that one of the top five film special effects companies in the world would be in Miramar, this modest neighborhood of Wellington, New Zealand.  When we pulled up I told Tracey that this movie production “workshop” probably started in their garage.  I was not far off as we were told during our tour that it was started in the flat of a young couple who were looking for something to “make” with their hands.  Over the years their workshop would grow into this incredible company, actually at least two companies, Weta Cave and Weta Digital.  Here is a good article in the NZ media summarizing some of the history of the Weta Companies.

IMG_2904We met some great folks in Wellington…spent an evening, late evening with Dean and Jeff…owners of the cottage we stayed in while in Wellington…great meal, fresh vegetables out of their own garden, roasted kale (excellent, tasted similar to nori, i.e. dried seaweed), roast pork, pork gravy, and homemade creme brulee!  And, a few bottles of pinot noir wine from area vineyard Margrain Rivers Edge from the Martinborough Region.  The time flew and I think by 3 am we had covered all subjects and then some!

IMG_2823 IMG_2814IMG_2794While watching our first Cricket game at an outdoor festival on Queens Wharf, we met a wonderful couple who were nice enough to give us a Cricket tutorial.  I think I am starting to like the sport!  NZ was playing a game against Pakistan.  After chatting for a while we exchanged contact info.  Guido and Sarah invited us to their place for dinner.  We had a fabulous evening and dinner that included spicy chicken curry…one of Tracey’s favorite (Sarah can we get the recipe ??) We met their wonderful children, Quentin, Hannah and Caleb, ages 9, 7 and 4…believe it or not, they are all musicians already!  Piano, Violin and Trumpet respectively.  Dad plays the guitar and is working on the drums…Mum is working on the ukulele.  Look out Partridge family! 

We ended up playing a couple games.  One I played was “Guess Who?”….  It is for ages 6 and up, however, Caleb, age 4, beat me twice ? Obviously a bright kid ? I fared better with the adults, winning at “Take Five, Take Two” and Dice…I think the hosts were being nice to me.

DSC01650 DSC01706 DSC01666 IMG_2781 IMG_1701 DSC01767 IMG_1710Wellington is built on beautiful bays from Oriental Bay near the CBD to Shelly Bay, Owhiro Bay, and Tarakena Bay.  We did a day hike on the NZ West Coast at Makara Beach on the Wharehou and Oharu Bays along the Tasman Sea.  We hiked on Wellington’s east coast to the site of New Zealand’s first lighthouse erected in 1859 on Fitzroy Bay.  The area has seen 21 shipwrecks with the most recent, a ferry in 1981. 

We dined at many restaurants in Wellington of course, our favorite being Ortega Fish Shack and Bar.  A close second was El Matador, the grilled vacio (flank steak), steamed NZ mussels, patatas bravas and grilled beetroot.  We have been enjoying Malaysian food – Satay, Sambal, Rendang and Murtabak at RasaSatay Malaysia, Little Penang, and one of our favorites Istana Malaysia.  Great service and hospitality from Mary and Danny, owners for over 22 years!  To round out the asian buffet we enjoyed Vietnamese food at Saigon Van Grill Bar And, on our last night we had a great time and great Korean food at Seoul House with our friends Alex, Alex, Jeff and Dean.

IMG_2848 IMG_2841Wellington was cloudy and cool much of our stay, so we made it to the City Gallery for some contemporary art and back to Te Papa to see the Dreamworks Exhibit.  Some of the Dreamwork’s animation work includes Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Foo Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon.  We were able to see how these were developed from “sketch to screen”… amazing!

IMG_2919 IMG_2925As we board the Interislander Ferry Kaitaki for the three hour plus trip across Cook’s Strait we are kinda sad to leave what we thought was a beautiful North Island…but everyone tells us the beauty of the South Island is remarkable.  Bon voyage!  And a few more pics from Wellington…DSC01721 IMG_1693 DSC01698 DSC01663 IMG_2780 IMG_2785 DSC04997 DSC01715 DSC01775 IMG_2861 IMG_2851 IMG_2765 IMG_2738 IMG_2734

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