It’s Christmas! And this year, instead
of going away for the hols, we are instead entertaining Nicola’s sister, Lisa,
and her family, at our place and in Taupo.
We met them off the Interislander ferry
on the 23rd. On Christmas eve we went to Scorch-o-rama in Scorching
Bay, for an alfresco breakfast, before taking a tour of the Weta Workshop in
Miramar. Weta are the main special
effects contractors for Stone Street Studios, Peter Jackson’s company that has
made the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies, as well as working on other
films such as Avatar and District 9.
We assembled outside at the designated
time and sat amongst the trolls before being taken into the studios. No
photography is allowed inside the studio. Inside, we were given a guided tour
by one of the artists there, a painter by the name of Mark. He gave us some
brief biographical details (previous career included illegal uncommissioned
public works of art, he told us), then explained some aspects of the special
effects used in films. This would either give us an insight and appreciation of
the work that goes into making a film, or completely ruin the films for us.
Finding out that all the weapons used are made of lightweight foam rubber and
plastic, for example, should come as no surprise. As was Sauron’s armour. He
also gave us hints for dying as an extra in the movies – fall down in a
comfortable position, as you may need to fall down and stay down for some time.
Then do the same thing over and over again.
Then we headed through Wellington and up
to Karori, to visit Zealandia. It was a lovely sunny day, and we got there in
time to join one of the guided tours, so Jim and his trainee tour guide, Jess,
took us around the reserve, dealing words of wisdom (let it be) and answering
our questions. We took in the Discovery Centre, where hihi and bellbirds were
both feeding, and heard, but were unable to photograph (again), the elusive
saddleback. We walked across the top dam and suspension bridge before going
down to the tuatara enclosure, where a good half-dozen animals were out in the
sunshine.
After two days of glorious sunshine,
Christmas Day dawned cloudy. Still, all were determined to go swimming in
Scorching Bay so after lunch we went for a walk over the crest of the hill to
the beach, and after some trepidation and and a bit of shivering, in they all
went.
We
all had an early night after that, as the next day we had to rise early and set
off for our holiday bach in Acacia Bay, near Taupo.
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