Coming face to face with giants

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And the rain finally came in, it was chucking it down. It all worked out ok though because all of today’s activities were indoors.

We drove back over to Miramar and did the WetaCaves tour for an hour and a half where we got a glimpse at the magic that goes into the set and prop design for so many movies.

As an extra we did a tour of the Thunderbirds set which I actually enjoyed more; seeing the futuristic houses in miniature and how they shoot the scenes was really interesting.

Before leaving Miramar we had brunch at the very popular spot The Larder; just eggs on toast and coffee but somehow it tasted amazing and I have never seen such yellow egg yolks in my life…sunshine on a plate!

Troll capturing Toni Weta Cave New Zealand

Recharged with good food we headed back to the city and spent the rest of the rainy afternoon in the Te Papa Museum.

A lot of the exhibits were the same as our last visit but Gallipoli: The Scale of our War, created by Weta Workshop to mark the World War I centenary was absolutely extraordinary. The exhibition tells the story through the eyes and words of 8 ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves serving in the war. Each featured soldier or nurse is captured frozen in a moment of time as a monumental effigy; 2.4 times human size.

They were truly spectacular and it felt like we were walking among giants, I could have sat and gazed at them for hours.

Gallipoli Exhibition Te Papa Museum Wellington New Zealand
Walking among giants, Gallipoli Exhibition at Te Papa Museum, Wellington, New Zealand

By the time we left the museum the rain was starting to let up a bit and we watched some dragon boat racing along the waterfront before freshening up for our last night out of the trip.

By now we felt maxed out with food and drink and nothing could beat last night’s experience so we ended up just grabbing a pizza and beer in a great little place that was buzzing.

Went to bed with mixed emotions. Happiness at having had a fantastic holiday. Sadness and an unwillingness to get on a plane and leave tomorrow. New Zealand feels like it could be home one day. Maybe it will be…

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