Wellington, New Zealand - May 15th

We docked in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand; and the capital of the film empire of director-producer Peter Jackson, creator of the Lord of the Rings films, which were shot entirely in New Zealand. Many of the scenes were done in the Wellington area. All the film processing and special effects were done at his Weta Complex in Wellington; which did the same for James Cameron’s Avatar and a number of other movies. So we did a Lord-of-the-Rings locations and Weta Complex tour.

Trigger Warning: If you are not a Lord of the Rings fan, this post will bore you to death.

This quarry just outside Wellington was where the set for the battle of Helm’s Deep was constructed. That's the one in which Legolas and Gimli compete to see who can kill the most Orcs. That set was then torn down, and the same location was used to construct the seven-leveled city of Minas Tirith.

The “Great River Anduin” (the River Hutt). Along these rocky shores, the Fellowship of the Ring boat scenes were filmed, as Frodo & Company journeyed down from Lorien towards Gondor. A carefully chosen filming perspective can make a river seem much larger than it really is.

The “Gardens of Isengard” (Harcourt Park), where Saruman the White and Gandalf the Gray consulted and discussed the threat posed by the discovery of the One Ring. We are doing our best wizard imitations.

“Rivendell” (Kaitoke State Park), where Bilbo lived for 20 years in the House of Elrond (the Last Homely House). Joani has borrowed “Sting” from Frodo and Bilbo.

A suspension bridge over the “Fords of Rivendell” (the Hutt River again). This is the stream upon which the Lady Arwen (Liv Tyler) unleashed her magic to make it rise from its banks and unhorse the Black Riders, allowing Frodo and his friends to safely enter Rivendell.

We are still in Rivendell, on the spot where Bilbo’s bedroom was. Of course, when Elrond departed for the Western Havens, Rivendell ceased to exist, so nothing is left. It was all magic.

This is the arch through which the Fellowship of the Ring passed, leaving the safety of Rivendell to embark on their quest. Things will get more dangerous from here on out. Joani is thinking that Sting is a little on the small side. Maybe she should have a two-handed sword of Rohan, like the one Lady Eowyn used.

Joani has given “Sting” back to Frodo, and is wielding a long sword with both hands in the style of a Rider of the Mark, just like the Maid of Rohan. The King of the Nazgul is dead meat, whether he knows it or not.

Messing around with the trolls-turned-to-rock on display at the Weta Complex (Peter Jackson studios), before our studio tour started.

We had a great tour of the Weta Cave, where they make all the props like swords and armour and Orc and Dwarf and Hobbit skins and faces and feet; and Weta Digital Processing, where they merge all the CGI and live action shots together. But no pictures were allowed inside. The armour and mace of Sauron were awesome. Our private guide, Mike was an Urak-Hai extra in The Hobbit movies.

This is a Banded Galloway cow on a local farm near “Rivendell.” It has just one big wide white ring around the middle of its black body. Ha! Bet you thought we would post sheep pictures from New Zealand!

Stopping in a traditional New Zealand café for a traditional hot chocolate. It is important to follow local customs.

Stopping at a local craft brewery, The Garage Project, featuring “Bier de Garage.” It is important to follow local customs.

A parting shot of Wellington from the top of Mt. Victoria, which overlooks the town and harbor. We had dinner at a local restaurant called The Roxio, which is of course a converted movie theater. And of course we saw Peter Jackson and his wife walk in for dinner. It being New Zealand, no one bothered him or even paid any attention.


Our next scheduled stop in Picton, New Zealand has been cancelled due to high winds and rain preventing docking at the small pier in Picton (population: 2000). So a rolling and pitching day-at-sea before we stop in Napier NZ where we have rented mountain bikes for the day.