Hamilton Gardens and Weta Workshop Unleashed

Rather than taking a trip somewhere on the North Island, in the new year we went on an easier-to-do day trip to Hamilton, which is about an hour and a half south of Auckland. I’d heard good things about the Hamilton Gardens but no one really explained that they were much more than the typical botanic gardens experience. They have lots of specialty/themed gardens and are constructing a couple more. I was impressed and would like to take some of my plant-loving friends there.

Fantasy Garden - like an Alice in Wonderland area

 

Fantasy Garden - facilities fit for a giant

 

First time seeing kiwifruit growing

Tudor Garden

Maori food storehouse (for kumara/sweet potatoes, etc.)

India Char Bagh Garden - my favorite with lots of color

Asian garden with bonsai

Chinese Scholars' Contemplation Garden

We also went to the nearby Waikato Museum, which we had almost to ourselves on New Year's Day. It had new information about the history of the Waikato region and a fair amount of artwork as well. The traffic coming back was so light, it was strange.

Otherwise, the other experience we had during the break was go to the Weta Workshop Unleashed experience in downtown Auckland and see some behind-the-scenes views of how they create special effects for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films. It was interesting to get more insight into the research and work that goes into developing the world and the creatures. A lot is based on the weird things we have in the real world; truth can be stranger than fiction.

The three made-up films used to explain the special effects process
(horror, fantasy, and sci-fi)

 

Miniature fantasy land

This robot is 5 meters tall but can be made to look 15 meters tall
with certain angles and effects.

My holiday break is over, so it's back to working and waiting to see if the vaccine rollout changes the border restrictions. There are so many places still to explore around here and I hope to get to adventure out on some more day trips this year in between all of the writing projects I've got.   

Wellington: South Coast and Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary

I went up to Wellington for a conference but had a few days before it started to relax and enjoy the outdoors with some people who were visiting. The flight there was smooth and I couldn't help noticing how the traveler/tourist's impression when flying Air New Zealand must be one of that 'clean, green' image they're trying so hard to promote. The hot drink cup was all about conservation, and the CookieTime cookie had a forest with kiwis all over it (never mind that the kiwis are struggling to survive with all of the introduced predators and people not having to keep their pets indoors). But the view of the snow-capped mountains was gorgeous as usual.

It was my second time visiting Zealandia Wildlife Reserve, but it was a good day for it - sunny with a breeze. I saw tuatara and birds and cool plants. Listening to the birdsong never gets old.

The World War I exhibit at Te Papa Museum was put together by Weta Workshop (Peter Jackson's) and featured huge soldiers and a nurse with audio and interactive components. It was cool and the features on the people were very lifelike, with hair and sweat and cuts and dirt. I was a little disappointed that the only woman, the nurse, was portrayed in such a feminine pose, crying and hunched over, rather than doing something related to her work.

 

A local recommended checking out the south coast of Wellington, and that was a beautiful spot, even though it meant that we were walking around the peninsula in the hot sunshine on one of the few days that it actually gets like that! The view of the South Island with the snow-capped mountain in the distance was beautiful. And the red rocks area was cool. The washed-up seaweed made cool patterns when it dried.