Wrapping up with Wellington

Now that we've been home for several days, I'll write the last post for this trip.  Our last 3 days were spent in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, located on the north island.  Wellington is a bustling, vibrant city on the coast.

The city is nicknamed Welli-wood because of the film industry's influence there.  We visited the art-deco Roxy Theatre.  The art deco façade of the 1928 building has been retained, with the interior completely rebuilt to highlight movie history.

Next up was the Weta Cave, the world's leading special effects and prop studio where characters and scenes from movies including "The Lord of the Rings", "Avatar" and "The Amazinng Spider-Man 2" were created.

We happened to be in Wellington during its World of Wearable art weekend.  There were some interesting costumes on the streets and in shops.

Note the cheese graters and milk containers

Then we checked out the Island Bay Marine Centre.

Wellington also boasts a fabulous botanical gardens and Zealandia, a predator-proof 550-acre eco-sanctuary and safe haven for endemic animal species, including the country’s rarest birds, reptiles and insects.

If  that weren't enough, Wellington also has a beautiful waterfront filled with fun shops and restaurants.  The lovely spring weather encouraged everyone to come out and enjoy.

One of the most moving exhibits I've seen in a long time was the Gallipoli exhibition in the Te Papa Museum. The Gallipoli Campaign in WWI was the first major military action of Australia and New Zealand as independent countries and the April 25th date is still a very important day of commemoration in both countries.  The life-like displays of actual participants in the campaign were designed by the Weta Workshop and are quite moving.

This blog of our travels to Australia and New Zealand is done.  There were many other highlights I haven't included, but I hope I've given you some insights into these two neighboring countries that are so uniquely different and equally awesome.

A Sheep Farm

On our last day on the south island we had tea and scones at a quaint B & B in the Rubicon Valley not far from Christchurch.  The location would be a perfect place to enjoy a relaxing holiday in nature.

I thought of my brother-in-law Vance when I saw this.

Next up was a large sheep farm where we  learned some basics of raising 3000 sheep in that part of New Zealand.

"Snack?  Did someone say 'snack'?"

A sheep herding demonstration

Alpacas got in on the action too.