Wellington: The home of New Zealand’s film industry, where the bulk of the Middle Earth films and many other great movies were filmed. And also New Zealand’s capital city, but who really cares about that, right?

We had big plans in Wellington. Day one: seeing filming locations in and around the city and Day two: A tour of Weta Workshop, dinner out and a movie. 

Mount Victoria, Rivendell & Isengard

Our first stop on our first day was Mount Victoria – the forrest covered mountain in the middle of Wellington. It was amazing to be so surrounded by nature in the heart of a big city and it was clearly a very popular destination for locals and tourists. We had to dodge a few Lord of the Rings tour groups in order to get the photos and video we wanted.

We first found the embankment were the hobbits hide from the Black Rider on their way out of The Shire. It was built up a lot by fake roots for the actual film, so there’s not a lot to look at. But it was still pretty cool to see the little ridge is still there after all these years!

After this we went looking for the tree that Frodo and Sam eat breakfast under just before the Black Rider scene. Unlike the previous spot, this was not signposted so we ended up walking too far which very much upset Tat’s bad hip. We eventually found it – or at least a tree that looked very similar and was approximately where the guide book said it would be.

We then, slowly, made our way back up the path to where the car was. Tat’s very tight calves have observed that there is not a lot of flat ground in New Zealand and, while they seem to be surviving, they are thoroughly looking forward to walking in Melbourne again!

After lunch we drove out to Kaitoke Regional Park where parts of Rivendell were built and filmed in a gorgeous Beech Tree forest. This location was very well signposted and had little information stands with explanations of where the different sets were and reference pictures. Tim was very impressed that the production team were able to build the set in amongst and incorporating all the trees.

Finally we drove to Harcourt Park which is where the first scenes at Isengard were filmed – before Saruman chops everything down to create his army. This was Tat’s favourite location of the day as you could clearly see many of the same plants and trees that are in the film, they have just grown a little taller over the years.

Weta Workshop & Thunderbirds Tours

On our second day in Wellington – and final full day on the North Island – we went on a tour of Weta Workshop. Weta is the company – or group of companies – that made all of the props, costumes and special effects for the Middle Earth films. They are known for their detailed models and props as well as pioneering motion capture technologies. Check out their website if your want to know more!

We weren’t able to take a lot of photos during the tour because of complicated copyright reasons. But they did have sculptures of the trolls from the Hobbit out the front and a few others in the shop.

Tat was very excited when we got to the room with chainmaille in it. They had a really gorgeous sheet of micro-maille – similar to the sheet she finished recently but made with really tiny rings. They also had a small piece of scale-maille which Tat hasn’t attempted yet, but now, having had a close up look at it, is definitely going to!

Tim was pretty impressed with everything.

As well as the main workshop tour we went on their Thunderbirds Are Go! tour which showed off the sets from the Thunderbirds reboot of the same name that Weta also make. It was really cool to hear how they blend real sets with CGI characters and vehicles. The sets were very impressive too!

Tim thought it was really cool hearing how they use regular objects and “junk” to create the sets, and even use some of the same techniques he uses to make his model display boards! Tat was just happy to take lots of photos to make her dad jealous!

Dinner and a Movie

While we have spontaneously gone to some really nice places for dinner during our trip, we had been planning to have an evening out in Wellington since before we left. We were also very appreciative to have been given some New Zealand Dollars from Tim’s family for our birthdays, some of which has gone towards a few souvenirs, but that we were also saving for this night (so a big thank you to Tim’s family).

There is a new film out, based on a book, called Mortal Engines. It was produced by Peter Jackson and many others that he worked with on the Middle Earth films as well as the Weta companies. We decided to see it at the Embassy Theatre: the 700 seat Art Deco theatre where many of the Middle Earth films premiered.

The evening didn’t start out quite as well as we had hoped. We decided it would be easier to get the bus to the theatre so we did some research into routes and tickets. When we got on the bus, however, we were met with one of the rudest and most unhelpful bus drivers Tat has ever met – and she’s met quite a few bus drivers!

Luckily the theatre had been pointed out to us earlier in the day by the coach driver on the way to Weta so we more or less knew where we were going.

Once we arrived, we had to find somewhere for dinner. We were expecting there to be some nice restaurants near the theatre, but it was mostly fast food, pubs and bars.

After a while, we settled on a nice looking place that had a 2 for 1 special on Beef Wellingtons. It seemed like an appropriate meal to have in Wellington! They were quite nice too. Tim also tried a local craft beer and Tat had a coconut margarita which tasted like coconut & lemon pancakes.

We had arrived quite early, so after dinner we walked over to the Theatre and hung out at their bar, the Black Sparrow, and had more yummy drinks!

Motal Engines: A “Mini” Review

We both enjoyed the movie. But it wasn’t especially good.

The visuals were stunning – and definitely the best part. It was especially impressive having been to Weta earlier in the day and hearing about some of the processes they go through to create their effects and props. Many of these would have been used in creating the world of Mortal Engines.

The film is set in a futuristic dystopian world where steampunk inspired moving cities roam around devouring other cities. There is an ongoing conflict between the people who support the moving cities and the people who have built permanent settlements, although the history and philosophies behind each of these factions is barely delved into.

The story revolves around a young girl who has a vendetta against one of the chief engineers of London. She falls in with an historian (basically a librarian but for artefacts from before society was destroyed) and through a series of mishaps they uncover a larger conspiracy.

Overall it was a very fascinating world and some interesting characters. We both felt like we wanted to know a lot more than we were given. But it was almost like they took this complex universe and stuck a “generic sci-fi plot” cookie cutter in it. Every twist and turn could be seen from a mile away and the only thing that was surprising was just how unsurprising it was!

Out of curiosity we read the synopsis of the book on Wikipedia and there seem to be a lot of better choices in that. Because of this, we wonder if the film suffered by needing to be a self-contained story. They do leave it a bit open to potentially expand on, but overall it is all wrapped up neatly which indicates that the studio did not want to guarantee a sequel. However, from what we read, there are quite a few elements from the book that were changed or left out that, if focused on, could have made the film much more interesting and surprising.

It seems like they put all their energy into creating amazing visuals and let the ball drop a lot when it came to the plot, which unfortunately doesn’t make for the best of experiences. If you are someone who is interested in complex sets and effects or steampunk in general then it’s probably worth a watch. If not, maybe check out the book instead.

Leaving the North Island

The following day we got up early to drive out to the ferry. We have had an amazing time on the North Island and can’t wait for all the adventures to come on the South Island!

While we were driving we listened to the end of Fellowship of the Ring. It seemed very appropriate to be hearing about Frodo and Sam paddling away down the River Anduin, beginning the next part of their journey, just as we were driving up to the docks, beginning the next part of ours …