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...

Napier City Shops, New Zealand 2010

December 30, 2010 - Napier City Shops and boardwalk....

Sandy and Nilda enjoying the leisure stroll along Queen Street shops, lined with cafes, bistros, and one of a kind shops, Napier offers every visitor their own attractions, their people...

 Outside Cafe and Bistros dot the main streets of Napier making this resort town quaint and  very inviting, the people greet you on the streets with warm hellos (G'daay) while boasting the local crafts and curio items...

 One of the few Steakhouses open this time of year in Napier, Charlie's offers gaming dishes that to a novice traveler is something exotice such as the  Venison steaks, Lamb steaks & other not so familiar dishes..

Napier, New Zealand - Hawkes Bay - Beach Town Resort

December 30, 2010 - Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand...beach resort town at Hawkes Bay...

This is a very beautiful beach side resort town, almost have the same ambiance as Catalina Island, the City Centre is located right off the beach, surrounded by cute shops, although most were closed, the Kiwis know how to celebrate the Holidays, they take off work from December 23rd to January 10th, it was only a handful of small shops open this time of the year...

The Napier Dome is perhaps the most well known landmark in Napier, right across from the Beach Amphitheater where they celebrate the New Years and Fireworks.. 

The Napier Beach Amphitheater is enclosed by these roman pillars surrounding the stage where famous performers have done concerts..

Sandy at the Breaker's restaurant parking lot which is right below some of Napier's view Hillside homes...

 Breaker's restaurant at Napier is a favorite hang out for the locals... I would compare the food just like Fridays, burgers and comfort foods, indeed very tasty is their beer battered Fish & chips, for some reason I was a little disappointed that they did not have Tartar sauce or Malt vinegar, instead they serve their chips with tomato sauce or mayo... WARNING! the price is almost $20 per dish...

At Breakers, ordering at the bar, they serve liquor and local wines as well as beer and other beverages, sorry, strawberry lemonade is not in the menu...

Sandy deLeon and Nilda deLeon seated at the bay window table to soak some sun and enjoy the park scenery across the street.