Wellywood: things to do on a rainy day

I had one full day to spend in Wellington, before taking the Inter-Island ferry and moving to the South Island. Today's weather was cool, breezy and light rain, so I did "indoor" stuff. First, a visit to the NZ archives to take a look at the Treaty of Waitangi, the 1840 agreement signed by the representatives of the British Government and the Maori, that set the groundwork for New Zealand's constitution. This is the primary document that sets the baseline for New Zealand's ongoing efforts to reconcile indigenous and pakehe [descended from European immigrants] concerns. Unfortunately, the document is displayed in low light conditions, and, not well-interpreted. The Archive itself is in temporary digs, while its main building undergoes renovation. It's a shame, as it would be worthwhile to be able to read the English translation of the document, which is written in maori. This document is to New Zealanders, what a viewing of the Declaration of Independence is for Americans, or the Magna Carta for the British.

Later, I took the city bus out to the suburb of Miramar, to visit the WETA [pronounced WEE-TAH] cave, next to the location of Peter Jackson and Co's SFX animators, sculptors, artists, etc., related to Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Narnia movies, and Avatar. I really had no idea how much work WETA has done. Sort of like a visit to Disney + Pixar, but this company's digs are a renovated paint plant, out near the airport. All very understated. I even got to meet an actor from Avatar: the guy who shot the tree. He was standing at the counter when I was there. He looked oddly familiar, but in a place like WETA, it's really hard to differentiate between the fantasy and the reality. In the WETA cave you can buy all sorts of beautiful and expensive models, things like Gollum and Gandalf, plus you can see previews of the design work being done on The Wind in the Willows, due in 2012. I could have bought a pair of hobbit ears for $52, but I thought that was a little too much.

Finally, I topped off my day by a visit to the movies in Wellywood, seeing The King's Speech at the historic Embassy cinema, where LOTR was first shown. Lots of photos of Frodo and Gollum waving to the adoring crowd.