Rowena's Lodge Wellington

Wellington, the capital of NZ is probably a city that most people see quickly, as they are in a rush to get elsewhere. But we decided to stay 4 days here in order to have a break from travelling, and to get caught up on correspondence - it is impossible to ever get completely caught up! We still wanted to see the sights of Wellington though. Day one was full of classic sights of the city. First we visited the Te Papa museum - the Museum of NZ. There were 6 floors. I only managed to see one of...

Today we continued our tour around Wellington with a trip to Weta, the company that helped bring the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) movies to life with props, computer graphics, miniatures, etc. Unfortunately since this is a company constantly working on movie contracts, they have high security and we could not go into their workshops. But they have created a small museum, behind the scenes film, and gift shop for those crazy enough to visit. The history of the company is quite nice. Two people wer...

Today we ventured out of Wellington to go walking in Kaitoke Regional Park . This is a park north of town that was featured in the film Lord of the Rings as the elf town of Rivendell . We had a nice walk, once we found the path... not well signposted! But you need a lot of imagination in order to picture Rivendell. Apparantly this is the case in much of the LOTR scenes as they were restored to their natural state. They luckily had a board up to show some scenes from the film, and it was easie...

After christmas the next thing on the list is new years eve (NYE). We had agreed with Christa and Martin, two of my friends from Denmark who are also traveling in NZ, to meet in Wellington. The journey for us was a bit awkward, we first went north, then east, then south to Wellington and then north again, but we thought it would be fun to celebrate with them. After Tongariro NP we travelled east to Hawkes Bay, the sunshine coast. The weather was so nice and warm there it usually is, that's wh...

I wasn't feeling the most bright and breezy this morning. It rained most of the night. I needed the toilet but did not want to venture out into the pouring rain to relieve my bladder so instead I lay listening to the sound of the rain patting on the tent, while drifting in and out of sleep. The rain did not let up all day. We drove about four and a half hours to Wellington and I was glad to be inside the warm, dry car. Fortunately the rain stopped just as we got to Wellington. We checked into...

Wellington is class. Looks a bit like Cork, the harbour, the general size, population, layout etc. The pubs and clubs are outstanding. The trance, dance and house that Dj's back home don't have the guts to play are the norm out here. You won't hear grease lightning, fat man scoop or candyman here. Probably the best city i've ever being for a party atmosphere on a Friday or Saturday. I'll say no more.

We arrived in Wellington late last night to a magical thunder and lightening storm with amazing lightening which I think must be unique to New Zealand. The storm was great shame about the lashings of rain that had to come with it!! didn't see much of Wellington, well none at all really just the inside of the hostel really and the food shops just up the road! We stayed in the base Backpackers there which was pretty nice but the showers were cold which was rubbish! Apparently Wellington has the...

welcome to the new zealand's north island and its capital city, Wellington. known for its unbelievable winds, cafe/bar culture and the national Te Papa museum, wellington sits on the north side of Cook Strait. like most capital cities, it is the center of government; but unlike some large cities around the world, it has a "heart", or in other words, a city center or a personality. it's got courtney place, a long street lined on both sides with restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and shops. manner...

LOVE it.

05.06.09: Bye Bye South Island, it has been great. Now, we have to discover the North! The North and South islands of New Zealand are known respectively as the fish and canoe of the legendary hero Maui. We leave the canoe on the islander ferry for a 3hour journey. We sail through the Marlborough sounds, which are beautiful. The sun is shining and it is nice to chill-ax on the deck. We finally arrive in Wellington, the capital, which is not too big.

We check a few hostels before finall...