Wellington

I had a little stretch of time between the end of my internship and classes, and when my final exam was scheduled, so I decided to fit in one more bigger adventure away from Auckland. Together with Angie and Allison, I planned three days of fun in the country's capitol. It just so happened that a lot of our friends were going to be in Wellington around the same time as us, so there was some overlap with different people while we were there. It won't surprise you to hear that it was pretty rainy but no matter! It couldn't spoil our enthusiasm or sense of adventure! 

We flew to Wellington and arrived at night, checked into our hostel and then went out to meet some friends at a local bar where they were hanging out. We heard about their time in Wellington and got suggestions for places to eat and visit in the next few days. The first night at the hostel I didn't get much sleep; the beds were pretty squeaky and being on the top bunk, I was afraid of shifting in the night and disturbing the person underneath me. I just stayed still as a statue and tried to fall asleep that way. 

Wellington Airport

The next day we ate a scrumptious breakfast at Fidel's. I got a breakfast burrito and it was delicious! The place was a little expensive but I figured it was okay once in a while to splurge. Then we walked around and explored the city a little. It is very different from Auckland. While Auckland is made up of bigger businesses and bustling people and suburbs, Wellington is much smaller with a multitude of shops. It is definitely a place that will relieve you of your money happily. We wandered into some quaint bookshops and met up with friends again at Sweet Mother's Kitchen for some light lunch and tea. 

Breakfast burrito

Allison and Angie at Sweet Mother's Kitchen

After lunch there was a break in the rain and so we took the opportunity to climb Mount Victoria which gives a nice view of the city and the harbor. There is also a LOTR filming location on the slope (The place where Frodo yells "Get off the road!" in the first movie just after they have left the Shire) which of course made me very happy. One of the people staying in the hostel with our friends climbed Mount Victoria with us. She is from London and had been to Singapore so I talked with her a while about my next upcoming adventure over in Southeast Asia and asked for any tips or suggestions she might have. 

The road leading up to Mt Victoria

LOTR filming location: "Get off the Road!"

Top of Mt Victoria overlooking Wellington and the Harbor

The Te Papa museum in Wellington is truly fantastic. It is huge, and incredibly interactive. They have an enormous squid in the Underwater section that is a little eerie to look at. We stayed in the museum for a while, and then met up with our friends for dinner and saw them off as they headed back to Auckland. We then went out to a place called the Library Bar which was really cozy. Bookshelves everywhere and live music performance made it a nice place to lounge and relax after a busy day of activity.

Te Papa Museum

Colossal Squid!

The following day we decided to make the most of the time we had before heading to the airport for our flight that night. We took a bus out to Weta Workshop where they were responsible for all the effects and props for many movies, including but not limited to the LOTR trilogy. It was really interesting to visit the shop and see all the different behind the scenes aspects of the making of the movies. On our way back into the city, I saw them filming part of the last Hobbit movie on an outdoor soundstage! Very cool and quite exciting for this here LOTR fan. 

Once we arrived back in town, we visited the art gallery and took a tour of Parliament which was very interesting indeed. They brought us to the basement where we were able to see the earthquake proofing that had been done to the foundation through the insertion of rubber and steel plates for the building to rest on. 

Art Gallery

Wellington Nuclear-Free Pins

Parliament

After Parliament we drank some delicious hot chocolate and went to the Sky and City Museum in Wellington. Then we met up with other friends who had just arrived from Auckland and got pizza for dinner with them. After a quick dessert (Can never have too much dessert in my opinion), we were off to the airport to return to Auckland. A fun change of scenery and good times were had in Wellington. 

Mmm chocolate