Windy Welly, Hobbit home!

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Well, I resisted visiting Hobbiton (I thought it looked a little lame in the promotional photos, but have since met people who said it was pretty cool), but since it was a very special day last week (my birthday, dammit!) I decided to check out one of the Lord of the Rings tours, which now number somewhere around forty for the country. The blockbusting series continues to be a big money maker for New Zealand (aside from the obvious benefit of having a high budget series of films dependent upon the countries natural beauty), and I could easily have spent hundreds of dollars of high class tours. I opted for a cheaper option, however.

It was a small group, just nine people including the tour guide (much like the nine members of the fellowship, the guide happily pointed out), two of which hadn't seen the films. A little strange, I thought. They said they just wanted to explore the area, but I cannot imagine what was going through their heads as we stood in the middle of a seemingly mundane field discussing some obscure scene from a film they hadn't seen.

It was, I will readily admit, just a little bit geeky. It involved being driven around Wellington and the surrounding area, viewing locations and a few other sites of interest, all the while being informed of various details by our guide. I will also admit, that much of the stuff he told us I was already well aware of. Not quite as crazy as the twelve year old girl he had on the tour earlier in the year who was fluent in Elfish. Scary.

We visited a site from early in the first film, where Frodo realises the scary Black Riders are heading their way, and shouts to the other hobbits, 'get off the road'! I have a photo of me in that shot. Pretty sweet. Other than that, the other locations were ok. It was cool to visit the places, but hardly the most exciting experience of my life. Went to the location where they built Minis Tirith and Helms Deep, the national park where the build Rivendale (part of a large forest, now named and signposted as 'Rivendale') along with a few other places where they filmed various bits and pieces.

We also went past the studios and the computer and prop workshops, along with many of the places where cast members stayed whilst shooting the flick (also saw Sam Neil's house and Michael J Fox's holiday home). We visited the Chocolate Fish Cafe, now famous as the place where the cast used to hang out. For me, the highlight of the tour was Peter Jackson's house, a small modest place with one awesome attraction - in his bedroom window, for all of New Zealand to see, glistening in the sun, was his Best Director Oscar. I am fairly sure that no Academy Award winner has ever displayed their statue in their own house for the public to see. A generous and trusting gesture from a director grateful for the help he received from literally thousands of New Zealanders in order to complete his trilogy.

Other than that, the rest of my time in Wellington has been pleasant enough. I like the city; it feels friendly and small, considering it is the capital of the nation. It is, as people tend to say, very windy. I have visited a couple of the cities museums, taken the cable car ride up to the Botanical Gardens, and been on a lengthy and tiring walk out to the coast. I find it appealing that, only a couple of hours walk from the centre of the capital, you find yourself in serene and typically New Zealand countryside. I went out for a few drinks on my birthday with a guy from the hostel I am staying at (he is also kindly taking me across to the south island in his car), and have been to the cinema a couple of times (Unleashed - awesome, Doom - why did I go to see this drivel?, and 40-year old virgin - pretty damn funny).

Now I am moving on to the South Island, and heading to a town called Nelson. The plan is to hopefully go kayaking and hiking in Abel Tasman National Park, a park situated on the north coast, which I have heard is a very beautiful place.

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Photos

Wellington Harbour
Hidden around the pleasant harbour area are some cool quotes

Wellington Cable Car
Leading up to the botanical gardens, downtown Welly in the background