Wellywood
Roll out the red carpet: there is a myriad of ways to get close to Wellington’s famous movie industry and share a little of the stardust.
Top producers, directors and stars beat a regular path ‘down under’. It started with the Oscar-sweeping trilogy Lord of the Rings, directed by famous home-town boy Peter Jackson and enhanced by the technical wizardry of Weta Workshop. Later came King Kong and Avatar. The Lovely Bones and The Hobbit are next.
Specialist small-group tours visit Lord of the Rings locations. With Wellington Movie Tours, you’ll see the film clips as you stand on the very spot where they were filmed. Props are provided for pictures – you can be a hobbit in the Hobbiton Woods or Legolas at the ‘Legolas Tree’. Wellington Rover Tours lets you follow in the footsteps of hobbits, dwarves and elves and recreate over 25 scenes the Outer Shire, Great River Anduin, Rivendell and more. Both tours will share behind-the-scenes stories and take you to the Weta Cave.
Good coffee and wholesome food are not the only attractions at Eva Dixon’s Café, in Miramar. Tucked away close to Wellywood’s major studios, the café draws a star-studded clientele. An Oscar-winning actor or Weta Workshop technician is likely to be relaxing at a table near you.
Step into the Weta Cave, the store on Miramar’s Camperdown Road that sells movie memorabilia, collectibles and clothing, and features changing exhibitions showcasing the movies Weta Workshop have helped create.
In Petone, you can try on an authentic Elven cloak or Narnia cape at the Stansborough Mill where they were made. ‘Experience Stansborough’ tells the story of the unique breed of sheep, the Victorian-era mill and the woven fabrics created for fashion houses and films.
In the end it’s all about going to the movies, so where better to do this than in Wellington’s magnificently restored Embassy Theatre, world premiere theatre for Lord of the Rings.
