With the Aotearoaramblemobile in the background.
Category Archives: Travel
Thermal Wonders
I left Napier at about 8:30 and rolled into Taupo and took a look around, then headed north toward Rotorua. This is the Thermal Explorer Highway, which passes through the most volcanically active area of the country.
Just north of Taupo, I stopped at Craters of the Moon to wander around in an active volcanic area, because that’s what us Thermal Explorer types do. And it really is just like a moonscape, except for the lush vegetation, volcanic activity, and breathable atmosphere. It’s not as spectacular as some of the other places, but it was only $6 to get in.
After that I drove straight to Rotorua to get a room and something to eat, then headed back toward Taupo to Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland.
But first! Mud Pool. On the way into Waiotapu, there’s a sign that says simply “Mud Pool.” And if you’re a Thermal Explorer and you see a sign that says “Mud Pool,” you’re not just going to drive on by.
So I stopped. And I saw the mud. The blurping, glooping, sulphuric, volcanic mud. Here are pictures of the mud.
Then I went to Waiotapu, which really is an amazing collection of volcanic weirdness. There are vents and craters and steaming lakes and terraces and brightly colored pools and a geyser that did absolutely nothing. There’s another geyser that blows daily, but only because they prime it with soap, and that really seems like cheating. And they only fire it off in the morning, so I didn’t see it.
The mineral-rich water makes strange silica patterns.
Napier
It took longer than I expected to get to Napier. There were a few obstacles.
I expected Napier to be a sort of art deco Santa Barbara, but it’s probably more like Santa Cruz. Without the boardwalk. And with gravel beaches. And it’s really only a little art decoey. There are some art deco buildings, but a lot of it’s just lettering on signs and that sort of thing. Nice enough beach town, but overbilled by the guidebooks.
Right now I’m sitting on a downtown pedestrian street leeching wifi from one of the hotels (I think). It’s 6:30 in the morning and quite pleasant, but I have to hit the road. There are thermal wonders to see.
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
…and the sign for Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.
The Road Ahead
Wellington
Off to Napier now…
Hobbit at the Roxy
Right after the tour, I saw the Hobbit at the Roxy Theater down the street from Weta. The Roxy is a 1920s art deco theater restored by Peter Jackson (among others). Some of the design is a little different than your standard art deco.
The Hobbit was shown in 3D HFR (high frame rate), which is double the standard movie frame rate. It’s very different and…weird. I don’t know if it’s something I’d get used to. I thought it gave it a sort of video feel, and some of the backdrops looked really flat, even though I’m pretty sure they were shot on location. The only scenes I thought it enhanced were the darker CGI scenes, such as the ones in the goblin cave.
Weta Continued
I’m sitting outside in the very strong wind because I have an obligation to my loyal readers to bring them the most up-to-date information possible. Also because it’s the only place where I can get a triple latte and free wifi.
I picked up my rental car (a Nissan Note) yesterday afternoon and drove out to the Weta Cave. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, except for the Komodo monitor by the door.
Inside the door is a store that sells prop replicas, collectibles, and t-shirts/books/gewgaws. Prices range from a couple dollars for stickers and postcards to almost $12,000 for a made-to-order replica of Sting.
At one end of the store was a mini-museum with props and prosthetics from various movies.
When I was standing in line to buy t-shirts, I overheard someone talking about a tour, which turned out to be this:
The footsteps lead here:
This is a tour of Weta Workshop. They just started doing it in November, so it isn’t mentioned in any of the guidebooks. They have one room set up with props, prosthetics, and models in all stages of development, and you get to see the whole development process. It lasts about an hour. There are also a couple of windows to the actual work areas.
In the middle of all of this was one of the sculptors working on a full-size plastiline sculpture of Neptune, which he described as a “personal project.” He said it was going in his garden.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but we were allowed to touch most of the things we saw.
Weta Cave and Weta Workshop
There are a few more buildings up the street to the right. The whole area is mostly residential.
Te Papa
I’m at Te Papa Tongarewa. I really need to rethink the size of the camera I schlep around.
This is a big museum. There are Maori boats and houses, interactive earthquake displays, Captain Cook’s cannon, videos of Roger Muldoon, and a Sheep Cam.
Phar Lap’s skeleton is here, but his hide is in Melbourne.
There’s a moa, too, but it’s fake. I will not be fooled!
And trolls.
