Treat yo’ self!

A nice late start this morning, before leisurely heading off to the Wellington Airport to check out the Weta exhibits they have there (Gandalf, Eagles and Smaug). Couldn’t get any great shots of the Eagles due to poor lighting, but you’ll get the idea.

After that, we made our way to Weta Cave, the place where they get you to buy all the merch. I had held off buying anything up to this point, so I figured…

I ended up getting some Mini Epics (Frodo, Gandalf, Saruman and the Witch-King), as well as two signed art prints.

After our shopping spree, we drove to The Roxy Cinema for a group lunch and a chance to look around their iconic theatre.

Our scheduled day ended there, and we had a free afternoon to explore Wellington, though the Te Papa Museum was recommended to us, and most of us decided to go.

It was huge, and had lots of different exhibits. My favourite by far was the Gallipoli: The Scale of our War exhibit. Weta Workshop had produced several giant sculptures depicting extremely life-like people.

I couldn’t believe how detailed they all were, and how perfect. The skin, hair, sweat, dirt, clothes, expressions, eyes – everything was flawless, and incredible to see at that size and from such a close distance. Photos can’t really show all that, but it at least gives you some idea.

There were a bunch of other exhibits, but I didn’t take too many photos. Here are few random ones though.

After finishing from the museum, I walked around and explored the city a bit, finding a highly-recommended authentic pizza place nearby. Incredibly fresh, tasty wood-fire pizzas. I then walked back to the hotel to rest my aching feet and process the day’s photos.

Another early start tomorrow, back to Weta, but this time for a behind-the-scenes tour!