Welcome to Part 2 of our New Zealand trip. We left off Saturday afternoon, touring the city of Wellington in our rental car on our way to returning it to Jucy. We went up to Te Ahumairangi Hill lookout, past Parliament, and up Mount Victoria park and lookout where they filmed the hobbits hiding from the black rider. The park had a bunch of walking and dirt biking paths, very hilly. We went to the Te Papa Museum which had an amazing and haunting exhibit by Peter Jackson and Weta on Gallipoli with oversized models and other fun exhibits on New Zealand animals and volcanoes. We had a lot of fun exploring the museum and had Japanese for supper, before a chill night at our Airbnb. Sunday, we walked up Mt. Victoria to church which had an amazing view of the city. We walked the waterfront and had brunch, before continuing on Writer’s Walk on the waterfront. We went to the Wellington Museum and got more of our learning on. Both the Te Papa and Wellington Museum were free and very cool to walk through. We then caught an Uber to the other side of Mt. Victoria to Weta Cave- the Weta tour spot and gift shop. We browsed the gift shop and had a tour of the studio. We unfortunately could not take pictures during the tour, but we got to see the process they go through designing props, weapons, vehicles, and armor for the movies and shows they have worked on. They had stuff from not only all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, but District 9, Ghost in the Shell, and King Kong. It was really cool to see it all and during the week, you can see their sword smith and model makers in action too. My favorite thing was a life sized model of Dain and his Boar from the third Hobbit movie.

We took an Uber back to our AirBnB and then got dressed up for a fancy dinner out for my Birthday. I had oysters and steak. It was during dinner that we heard the announcement from the Australian Prime Minister that we would have to self isolate for 14 days when we got back. New Zealand was only up to 8 cases that day, and only 1 in Wellington so we were surprised, but were going to do it regardless. We had a nice sunset stroll along the waterfront and another chill night, enjoying our freedom outside while we still had it. Our AirBnB was really in the best spot; so close to the main CBD area and waterfront, but more residential so it was quiet. Right by the Embassy theater. Brandon picked the perfect location. There were buses everywhere around the city, but we ended up walking mostly and taking Uber to get places further away. A super nice city with a lot going on.

Monday, I got up and went for a massage, since I knew it was going to be a while until I could get one in Australia and my legs and back were still sore from our hike. Then we packed up and went to lunch. We took an Uber to the airport and checked in. We saw more Weta installations of the Eagles and Gandalf and one from Ghost in the Shell. Brandon grabbed some Subway since he doesn’t like plane food. We then made the three ish hour flight back to rainy Sydney and an Uber back to our apartment and 14 days on not leaving it. Overall a really nice trip. Worth it and amazing. Well planned by Brandon and very fun.