April 12 2025 - travel and arriving in Wellington
Not much happening today. Got picked up about 10 am for drive to the airport. Our driver, Tony was exceptionally helpful in getting us situated.
At the airport in Wellington, Robert picked us up. Gave us a brief tour of the Capital and 3rd largest city in New Zealand. Less than 1 million live in Wellington. We took the scenic route to our hotel by the water front. Along the way Robert pointed out some of the houses that are built on the hill side and the only access is via a private cable car.
April 13 2025 - a tour of Wellington
Today is a day of site sightseeing around Wellington. Our driver, Richard, picked us up at 9AM. The city is not that large, but has many areas, old and new. Drove by the railroad station where he informed us many come streaming in the mornings and then stream out in the afternoon. There is only one road into Wellington, so many do come in by train. He also said the trains are not very modern, a trip to Auckland would take 12 hours by train.
We drove up to Mt. Victoria for the views of the city. Then around the various areas before stopping at the Weta workshop. This is the creator of the various special effects and costumes for many films, most notably, The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. This was a 90-minute tour and very interesting how they make the prosthetics.
Tonight’s dinner was at the Crab Shack, buy the waterfront.
