An Unexpected Journey - Four

April 14, 2016

we·ta

/ˈwedə/

noun

1. a large brown wingless insect related to the grasshoppers, with long spiny legs and wood-boring larvae, found only in New Zealand.

Nice breakfast at the lovely Bolton hotel in Wellington, then a short drive around the scenic Wellington Harbour to the Miramar peninsula.  Here we would enjoy a tour of the magical Weta Cave, co-founded by Richard Taylor and Peter Jackson. Artists and craftsmen create physical effects for the Lord of the Rings movies, and countless other films, in this unassuming, one-story building in the middle of an unassuming neighborhood of one-story houses.  Without a parking lot available, visitors circle the streets in search of curbside parking.  I felt sorry for the residents of this neighborhood, until I learned that most of them are part of the Weta team.

Once we found a parking spot, we walked around the front of the building, and were greeted by three handsome trolls, Tom, Bert and William.  Charming chaps.

Arriving a bit early, we were able to jump in on an earlier tour.  Just inside the doors of the "cave," I snapped a photo before the tour guide joined us and said no photography was allowed.  All of the props and costumes inside are still property of the production companies of the various films, and they hold the copyrights.  So, imagine, if you will...

The first display was a gun from District Nine, the various molds and versions in wood and plastic painted to look real and worn.  We saw the face molds of Ian Holmes and Elijah Wood, and a cool animatronics goblin head that was controlled by a hand-held device not unlike a video game controller.  It was fascinating to see all the different facial expressions it could make.  A model castle for the Narnia movies sat in one corner, and Gimli's helmet was in a glass case, along with other helmets and swords.  We held various latex prosthetics and some very real-looking chain mail that was extremely lightweight and made of tiny plastic rings.  Lifelike Sauron and Avatar models looked down on us as we neared the exit, and we saw some hair pieces made from either real human hair or yak hair, hand-sewn hair by hair, making them worth thousands of dollars.

We spoke with one of the artists who was working on some independent contract work.  The artists on staff are allowed to use the facilities for their own projects when Weta has no work for them.  This allows Weta to keep the talent between projects.  When a project is in full swing, the size of the staff swells with temporary workers, but a skeleton staff is maintained on a more permanent basis.   

Back inside the main entrance was a LOTR-lover's dream world.  Every possible LOTR souvenir imaginable was available here, along with items from other Weta projects.  Displays here included a Gollum statue, and Urukai model, and some Hobbit feet.  I asked the sales staff what a weta was, and one young man took me outside where we found a small, grasshopper-like bug hanging out under one of the troll's leather wraps.

A short film about Weta (the company, not the bug) was shown in a tiny dark room in the back.  Weta began with the chance meeting of Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor, two amateur filmmakers working out of their garages at the time. From those humble beginnings, it was amazing to see the number of high-profile projects in which Weta has been involved.  They are not only contracted for movies, but have also done the TV series Thunderbirds Are Go and an exhibition commemorating the Gallipoli war, one of the most important events in New Zealand's history.  Weta also has a digital arm that has done the computer graphics special effects on numerous films.

After picking up some postcards, we drove back to the waterfront we'd passed on the way and found a little cafe, Beach Babylon, to have some lunch while enjoying the view.  We pulled out our chinese checkers and attracted  the attention of an older British gentleman who was waiting with a large group of tourists. He told us how he and his siblings often played on a set his father made for them.  I love when people share their stories!

The city has a bit of an American West Coast vibe

We walked across the road and sat on a bench on the waterfront, watching two sea gulls dine on what we soon realized was a dead penguin.  What appeared to be a class of kayaking students paddled into the bay, and a couple of them felt they should bury the penguin.  The sea gulls seemed perplexed by this turn of events.

Back in town, we had a little time to walk around the city.  Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and has many stately buildings on its hilly streets.

In the evening, it was another short drive to Zealandia, a protected natural area in a busy suburb of Wellington.  It is billed as the world's first fully fenced urban eco-sanctuary.  Mary, another transplant from Ft. Collins, CO, was to be our guide for the Zealandia Night Tour.  Our small group of seven included Mary, her assistant Douglas, a NZ dairy farmer and his wife, and a young french woman.  A self-check of everyone's packs ensured we weren't bringing any unwanted stowaways into the park.  We were given small flashlights with red lights that would enable us to see things in the dark without disturbing the wildlife.  A set of double gates insured no unwanted critters joined us on our twilight tour.

Sign for the cafe

This unique eco-attraction is an attempt to restore all native flora and fauna and eradicate all invasive species.  Europeans brought many invasive plants and animals when they arrived.  Before their arrival, NZ had no native mammals, no snakes, no poisonous spiders - amazing.  This ambitious project enclosed 225 hectares (about 555 acres) inside a sophisticated, nearly impenetrable fence, then set about trapping and removing all the invasive mammals.  Many of NZ's native birds are flightless, and as such are defenseless against non-native predators.  (They have discovered that baby mice can still slip through the fence).  Zealandia staff says they are twenty years into their 500-year-plan of restoring the natural habitat - a very ambitious project.

the Takahe (it was getting dark)

As we entered, we heard the songs of several species of birds that are now flourishing in this restored habitat, like the Kaka and the Tui.  As the sun disappeared, these songs died out and we heard the songs of the nocturnal creatures, including the elusive kiwi and the little morepork owl.  In a little enclosure we encountered a pair of Takahe, big, blue flightless birds with red beaks, who followed closely on our guide's heels until she fed them.  These were once thought to be extinct.

 A full moon shone as we made our way along the paths.  The assistant, Douglas, went ahead and located a tuatara, a prehistoric-looking lizard.  We were lucky to spot two different kiwis in the underbrush - such strange, awkward-looking birds.  We saw many more wetas on the underside of a tree, and marveled at the blue luminescence of hundreds of glowworms, which are not actually worms, but the larval stage of an insect.  The Maori name for glowworms is Pura Toke, meaning "one-eyed worm."  We tasted the leaf of the horopito, a peppery-flavored plant used by the Maori for many medicinal purposes.  Mary pointed out an enclosure that occasionally houses a rather famous, rare, kakapo parrot named Scirocco, when it comes for a visit.  Scirocco was made famous by an amusing viral video from Stephen Fry's Last Chance to See series.  Click Shagged by a Parrot to see.  We had a glorious view of the Southern Cross as we walked back to the entrance.  Inside, we all enjoyed a cup of horopito tea before saying good-bye.

Walked back to Bethel Woods for dinner again - the ribs were calling Tim's name.  The angry-looking waitress from the night before was now all smiles.  Tomorrow we leave the north island and head south.