Back to the cruise and today it's off to Wellington

The first thing each day is to work out which way to start walking as it all looks the same LOL. This is the view from outside our cabin.  When you get off the accommodation decks then they start the real onboard style of decoration, below is the foyer to the casino/art auction and library area. Lots of bling and things.

Wellington is the home of "Wellywood" and also where Peter Jackson lives and the home of some amazing studios - all built on the success of Lord of the Rings. 1 in 10 Kiwis had a direct involvement in the making of the film, either through roles as supporting casts or just the amazing assortment of poeple involved in the catering and non film activities.

Now as a LOTR tragic, having read the books 25 + times and all the other Tolkien books it was very exciting to visit the locations of the films so off we went. First stop was the special effects studio and waiting to greet us was Gollum.

The effects studio was very interesting but you were kept well away from anything that was creative and most of the time spent in a souvenir shop - shame.

From there it was off to the setting of "Rivendell" somewhere I have always wanted visit, even when it only existed in my imagination. On the bus and through Wellington to a park just on the outskirts of town. As it was the beginning of school holidays there were masses of children running around enjoying the park which totally destroyed the grace and beauty the Rivendell was meant to represent - oh well off to the park setting where Frodo crosses the river to get into Rivendell. A beautiful national park about 60 klm out of town and you could visualise the chase scene.

Last stop was the stone mountain of "Helms Deep" and the scene of the epic battle. Well it's a quarry just on the outskirts of town. Peter Jackson apparently bought the quarry for a year and with lots and lots of very clever tricks made it into Helms Deep, unfortunately now it looks like a quarry anywhere.

Off to Christchurch tomorrow.