I work as a volunteer in Zealandia, an urban wildlife sanctuary in the heart of Wellington, the 'coolest little capital' in the world. Here you can follow some of the things that I do, such as nest monitoring, feeding and talking about one of the rarest birds in the world or showing visitors the wonders of this amazing little valley.
When not in Zealandia I spend a large part of my time enjoying the wonderful outdoor environment Wellington has to offer. Biking, running, roller -blading, swimming and dragon-boat racing are some of the pleasures to be had amongst the tree clad hills, the winding roads and the ever changing harbour.
Living in Te Upoko O te Ika (the Maori name for Wellington meaning The Head of the Fish) is never boring with its wild climate and rugged terrain. I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I will enjoy describing this amazing place and its animals to you.

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Wellington's Weta Workshop

Gollum from Lord of the Rings at the Weta Cave

Over christmas and summer we have had a wealth of visitors and one of the bonuses is getting to see Wellington City through their eyes and visiting attractions we have not visited for a while.
Yesterday I took guests to the Weta Cave and toured the Weta Workshop, a place where props are made for such films as The Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, the Narnia series, Avatar and the children's series the Wot Wots.

One of my favourite characters was on display - Lonely Dog. He was created by a New Zealander in a series of paintings and Weta Workshop created a sculpture of him.

Lonely Dog
Much is kept hidden from visitors and the shop is too small for what needs to be displayed but it is a great place to go and the guided tour is well worth its modest cost. The guide is usually a Weta props worker who has some spare time. They give their own unique view on what you see which makes the tour always refreshing.

The name weta is taken from New Zealand's large insect

s, the scary looking but harmless creature that inhabits our forests and our gumboots if we are foolish enough to leave them outside overnight.

A Wellington tree weta after which the Weta Cave shop in Wellington is named

We got to peek through windows to see where custom made swords were being created for huge sums of money. We got to feel armour that looked heavy but was created by plastic and foam. Everywhere you looked were weird and wonderful creatures staring back, often distorted and menacing. We were allowed to touch and they had an uncanny real feeling to them. We were not allowed to use photography during the tour, but could snap anything in the shop area.

An incredible collection of film memorabilia is being gathered and the need to find a better place to exhibit it is growing. Weta is also working on creating large sculptures for a sculpture park. Again they are not sure where the sculpture park will be, but it will be a boon to the city when it is finalised.

Wellington is now linked to the movie director Peter Jackson, Weta Digital and Weta Workshop for time immemorial and hopefully the city can embrace our movie fame by finding space for their incredible collection and a spot for their huge sculptures to be displayed.
Gandalf's Hat
Close up of Gandalf

Gandalf the Grey

A sculpture of an elf from the Lord of the Rings


Hobbit feet

Lurtz the Orc
A troll outside the Weta Cave

A larger than life troll

Troll number three
Lurtz on a warg
This character leers above the shop assistant
There are is a display of miniatures for sales

A close up of one of the miniatures


An array of helmets for sale


A collection from the District Nine movie

An intricate shield for sale
King Kong
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