Wellington spoke to me in a way Auckland never did. I think that’s because Wellington is a sutler city, not screaming for attention with its car alarms and endless construction (Auckland for ya). Wellington is very put together, busy main roads are limited and instead the majority of the city consists of sculptures, boardwalks, and parks. Wellington is the city you want to spend the day in, versus Auckland is the city you want to hit up at night.

But it’s not just the visual appeal of Wellington that really stuck out to be, it was the wide array of things to do and see. In Auckland, if you’ve seen the sky tower and Mount Eden, you’ve done it all. In Wellington, you could spend an entire day at the Te Papa Museum, and still not have seen everything in that one building.

I only had time to walk through 3 exhibits while I was there and what took the most time was the special exhibit they had open. This exhibit is to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I, and highlights New Zealand’s participation and the troops dedication to their country. Walking through the trail of sculpture (done by Weta Workshop), interactive maps, artifacts, and displays, was probably the most engaging, incredible exhibit I have ever seen at a museum.

The first day we were in the city we didn’t have a car, and instead were able to walk anywhere we needed to go: to the museum, shopping, botanical gardens, cable car, and up to Mt. Victoria which takes up a steep hill trail to the top point which overlooks the entire city (it’s quite windy at the top).

Day 2

But the second day we needed a car to fulfill our ambitious schedule of adventures. We first visited Weta Workshop, the place known for costuming and design in many big feature films such as Narnia, Avatar and of course the ever so famous Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately the tours were already sold out for the day so we bought a ticket for the next day and continued on to a hike along the coast to the Red Rocks of Wellington. This place jumped out to be as back home in Vermont, Red Rocks is a place where many students go cliff jumping into lake Champlain. In New Zealand, Red Rocks is exactly what it sounds like–red rocks. This natural rock formation was quite intriguing to the eye, but also a joy to climb on as well. Only problem was trekking back to the car, as the wind along the coast was intense, whipping at our sides in a fight to knock us over.

After coming out victorious against the wind, we headed up to Kaitoke Regional Park which is about an hour drive outside of the main city and is home to the Lord of the Rings filming location- Rivendel. This gorgeous park had a wide field of camp sites of which we could choose our favorite to pitch our tent for the night, all which were surrounded by elegant mountains and New Zealand’s stunning native brush.

Day 3

In the morning we “went to Rivendel” taking pictures under the arch there, and taking in the scenes from the movies through a new lens when staring at the grassy patches and trees which used to be a set. We took an hour long brush walk after picture-taking was complete, beginning with a swing bridge over a crystal clear river If it hadn’t been cloudy with a little rain, we would have gone down to swim, as the pools of water were the ideal location to take a quick dip.

With plenty of time left in our day before our Weta Workshop tour and before we had to return the car, we visited yet another regional park in the area, Belmont park, were we partook in what we believed would be a brief jungle walk to a waterfall. In fact, the walk would have been relatively short if it weren’t for the fact that every 3 minutes of walking the trail required you to cross the river. Some crosses were easier than others, but some required very careful foot placement and quick momentum to make it seamlessly across. As promised, at the end of the trail was a waterfall, not huge in size but still beautiful and worth the endless hoping over the stream.

Weta Workshop was our last destination of the day,and although I have never considered myself someone who is particularly intrigued by the background development of films, I must admit the tour was a worthwhile experience. Getting to see the actual props for some of the biggest movies made in the past 10 years was incredible and being able to talk with one of the staff there about the processes behind prop-making and effects and learn about the tricks they do to make things seems real was an experience I don’t think I will have again.

We fit a lot into the 3 and a half days we gave ourselves to explore Wellington, and though I feel like I got to taste a bit of everything I wanted to see and do there, I still don’t feel like I truly got to fully experience all Wellington has to offer. But I think that is natural when traveling, to not get to see absolutely everything. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing either, as the things you have not gotten to do yet become draws to visit a place again. Therefore, I will always have a reason to come back.