Earlier, on Middle-earth Network’s A Long Expected Journey to New Zealand, Arwen and the gang stopped by the Weta Cave…
Once in Wellington, the very first thing our tour group hit up was the Weta Cave, where I promptly thinned out my wallet. I’m now the proud owner of Nenya (Galadriel’s ring), two Wellington Hobbit Premiere tees, a Wellington Hobbit Premiere pin, and two paper Gandalf hats.
We got lucky and were able to watch a brand new Weta video, which had just been added that day and included all kinds of Hobbity goodness. Speaking of additions – only two hours before we arrived, Weta opened up their new exhibit, “A Window into Weta,” which is housed right next to the Weta Cave.
The tour was amazing! It showcases all kinds of things Weta has made and gives you an in-depth look into how they go about creating the brilliant things they do by allowing fans to view the creative process via windows where you can see crew working on actual projects.
One such case was with sculpting. When I took the tour, they had a wonderful exhibit of sculptures on display and right beside them where the actual sculptors working on their current pieces. And wouldn’t you know, one of them happened to be none other than Steve Saunders, who we’d just interviewed here on Middle-earth News.
Steve was fantastic! He was hard at work detailing the next Hobbit-related statue, Radagast, and it looked amazing, so if you’re in Wellington, be sure to check out the exhibit and say hi to Steve.
The evening was filled with yummy food, friends, and lots of laughter. All around it was the perfect first day in Wellington.
Up next, an entire day filled with touring LOTR filming locations in and around Wellington. Stay tuned!
Click here for Arwen’s last post from Middle-earth – Our Tour’s Exclusive Visit Inside The Green Dragon
