Days 6 & 7

Taupo to Wellington

We had a long drive ahead of us on day 6, and after our previous night-driving episode wanted to make sure we arrived in Wellington before dark. We had discussed visiting the snowfields, but this would have involved a large detour off the main highway, and the twisty mountain roads would no doubt have made for even slower progress.

So we headed south between the ranges, and occasionally as we crested a hill or rounded a bend we caught glimpses of the snow-capped mountains to the west. When we came up onto the central plateau, the views were spectacular - it looked like someone had dumped huge buckets of snow on the plains.

Lunch was in a little town called Foxton, at The Dutch Oven (next to the Dutch Windmill). This little cafe was a joy - great staff and delicious treats to eat. We arrived in Wellington late in the afternoon, and just chilled out that evening (thank god for room service!).

The next day Lesley explored the shops and arcades in the CBD, while I went on a full day tour of filming locations for Lord of The Rings. First stop was Mount Victoria, a great spot for photos of the harbour, and many scenes were shot on the southern slopes, including when Frodo cries out "Get off the road!".

Next we went to the WETA workshop (created by Peter Jackson) in the suburb of Mirramar near the airport, after which the film company is named. We were treated to a comprehensive tour, and were even allowed to handle some props, but were not allowed to take photos (dammit!) for fear of leaking trade secrets. We had lunch at Scorcharama on the harbour shore, which was a favourite haunt of the cast, then went on to locations outside of the city, including Isenguard, Rivendell and Helm's Deep. It was just starting to get dark when the mini-bus returned me to the hotel.

That night we started packing, as we had to make sure everything would fit for the flight home. The next morning we drove down to the wharf and went for a stroll, and had a very expensive coffee at one of the cafes. Then we headed for the airport - the nearby Wellington Blown Away sign, at the entrance to Mirramar, was deemed more popular (in a public vote) than the originally proposed Wellywood.