Te Papa Museum, Wellington, New Zealand - Home of the 20 foot Squid

January 3, 2011, Te PaPa Musem in Wellington, New Zealand..

 New Zealand's Te Papa Museum, home of the largest Squid ever discovered and captured... this was the entrance to the museum. General admission is Free, special showings of the European Masters cost $40 per person to enter, we went cheap - you guessed it FREE is best.

Sandy and my sister, Nilda Daken, infornt of the Maori Totem Pole...

 We decided to explore the sea exhibits since this is perhaps the most visited part of the museum, the marine life in New Zealand..

 Some of the rarest species of fish is found at the oceans of New Zealand... everything the ocean floor grows seems enormous...

 Altho I was disappointed in being able to see a KIWI bird in its natural habitat, I settled for these specimens...

This is a 20 foot Giant Squid caught in 2004 and preserved under a flexiglass, this animal was large enough to even capture a great white shark...

 Te Papa's collection Maori Sculptures and arts... all hand carved and hand laden.

Weta Cave in Wellington New Zealand - seat of imagination and technology special effects

January 3, 2011 - Weta Caves - wizardry of special effects in movies... Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Narnia, District 9, just to name a few big blockbuster movies...

 Weta Caves, the worlds renown special effects company has a visitor's center in Wellington, it is a small shop with a screening room chronicling the creators and artist who work the magic of special effects, costumes, props, sets, sceneries, etc. 

 The entrance is FREE, you are greeted at the door by perhaps Weta's most famous resident, Gollum of Lord of the Rings, you can actually touch and feel the material and fabrics used to create this haracter out of the book...

Gollum telling me to go away, 'Precious'...

 Sandy can almost taste that sashimi on Gollum's hand...'PPPreeciouss'

My sister posing with Gollum, she didn't even see the movie....

 Hub-nubbing with Hollywood's most mis-understood villain, Gollum...

This was Sarum's armor and Headdress, this is almost 12 feet tall, the actor who actually wore it was this tall... 

 Sandy and my sister posing with Saruman's Ohlog-hai Troll, known to be 12 feet in height, cross between orcs and trolls, they are the fiercest warriors of the middle earth... 

 I'm just up to his waist, thats how tall this Ohlog-hai troll was, actual suit worn by actors of the original Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

 Who can resist posing with Gandalf's Grey cloak? Not me, yep yep yep... I was there... 

 Actual props and swords used for the movies...

 The hand was created to be chopped off in one of the many scenes in LOTR movie...

 Here is an Orcs, said to be able to climb walls with bare hands, eats flesh and formidable warriors and archers...

 This were the alien weapons in the newly released 2009 Movie, District 9...

 Weta not only caters to mature audiences, they have created Australia & New Zealand's beloved children character (guess she is like a Pippi Longstocking character in their animated movies.)

As we say goodbye to the magic of Special Effects and Weta Cave's wondrous collections..

Wellington, New Zealand - Our City Tour of Downtown City Centre

January 3, 2011 - Wellington, the windy city, seat of government and the arts, plenty of things to do and visit...

Exploring Wellington city was somewhat subdued, the traffic was very light due to being their New Year holiday, most of the main malls and shops were closed, mostly restaurants and eateries like the 'FinC Bistro' were open for us visitors...

 My sister ordering gourmet lunch at 'FinC Bistro' in downtown Wellington, I had the best tasting Bruscheta ever... yummy... of course, we had to have Fish & chips, freshest fish ever, still no malt vinegar or tartar sauce but crispy and delicious..

 Ordering gourmet lunch for this upscale Bistro in Wellington was a delight, altho expensive...

 Sandy by the Crosswalk Bridge of the City Hall and the Harbor beachside...

 My sister and I infront of the Circa Theater...

 Wellington's indoor Mall is both diverse and on the pricy side...

The Street Maps of Wellington, all attractions are all within walking distance from the main city streets...

Wellington - The Windy City Scenics and places to visit

January 3, 2011 - the windy city of Wellington, just like San Francisco, this beach resort town is the Capital of New Zealand, center of the performing arts among other things their seat of government...

 Beautiful Wellington Bay harbor and skyline... gorgeous city and also very windy on a normal day...

 Wellington harbor from the mountain view...

 Wellington Harbor provides Kiwis their main transport to the south island via Ferry...

 White sandy beach of Wellington, fit for summer swimming and sun frolic, except, it was too windy to brave the waters...

 Flocked by seagulls and other sea mammals, Wellington is a haven for natural yet city life style...

 The prestigious Marina of Wellington, boasts private yachts and privately owned sea vessels dot the skyline...

 The main Ferry transport to the south island can be purchased from $300/Car/person, travel takes about 4 hours.

 Whale tail monument along the harbor of Wellington...

 Art sculpture along the Te Papa Museum.... 

 Wellington's English Catholic Church is perched right at the top of the hill overlooking the bay...

 One of Wellington's performing arts theater... the Circa Theater...

Wellington's Mac Brewery frequently visited by travelers far and near, serves local vintage wines, tasting room and tours...

 Beehive Building, seat of the Wellington government, the city hall and city centre...

 Imagine bungy jumping in the middle of rush hour, yep, leave it to the Kiwis to thinsk of excitings things to do in the heart of the city... 

 Award winning architecture - Beehive Building business center...

 The Wellington Botanical Garden and Park is walking distance from our hotel, such a lovely way to pass time...

Lo and behold, they even have KFC right from our hotel....good to feel like being home...