Mordor,River Valley and Wellington

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Mordor & River Valley

Feeling both happy and relieved after surviving the sky dive we jumped back on the coach and headed to River Valley. This was to be yet another scenic route, which led us through the Lord of the Rings territory, passing through Tongariro National park where the filming for Mordor was done, followed by the river were Gollum was caught whilst fishing.

River Valley Lodge itself was picturesque to say the least as it’s wedged between towering cliffs and green bush clad hills. There hadn’t been much rain as of late; resulting in a low river... so unfortunately rafting was out of the question and instead we spent a relaxing day soaking up the sun lying and playing cards by the river, whilst getting eaten by the sand flies.

Wellington

Wellington is the Capital of New Zealand and home to the government. The parliament building is rather odd looking, as it has a distinct resemblance to that of a giant beehive. Close by is ‘Ye Olde’ parliament building, allegedly being the second oldest wooden building in the world though it didn't look very timber like to me but maybe I was looking at the wrong one?

When we arrived, we quickly sorted our bags and made our way to the hostel, Base Backpackers. Slightly over priced but conveniently situated close to Courtenay Place. This is the main area for nightlife and is situated directly opposite The Welsh Bar, of which claims to be the only Welsh Bar in the Southern Hemisphere.

When we finally explored Wellington, our first impressions were good. It's laid out in a haphazard sort of way, as opposed to the boring planned grid systems of so many of these New World cities. Whilst Wandering down to the harbour, it became apparent as to why they call it the windy city, this having nothing to do with baked beans may I add! The term windy can be seen as an understatement, as at times here anything not fixed down risks being blown over and sent rolling down the streets!

Wellington is also home to the grand daddy of kiwi museums, Te Papa. This is where I ended up spending most of the day. Te Papa is a massive place covering 4 huge floors stuffed with everything from New Zealand history and culture to wildlife. They even had volcano exhibits, all of which were tastefully done with interactive bits and pieces to play with and err...break!!!! Ooops...

Among the highlights was an enormous blue whale skeleton dwarfing a whole ceiling, but of course this being New Zealand there was also a virtual bungy jump attached... oh and even a virtual sheep shearing simulator. Yes you read that correctly!!! A SHEEP SHEARING SIMULATOR!!!

Shame time was running out and we couldn’t spend a bit more time here. I like this city... it has an arty feel with a complementing mix of different architectures and dozens of trendy cafes and bars. All this combines to give the city both character and a very European feel.

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