Wellington by Train

 We decided to take the train to from Auckland to Wellington with the intent of perhaps enjoying a different perspective of the beautiful North Island countryside.  I personally was not disappointed.  Eleven hours all told, with frequent short stops along the way.  The weather was accommodating, the seats comfortable and enough variation to keep it interesting in spite of the extended day.

The topography does not change appreciably over the 649 kilometer trip. Green hills most with of them devoted to sheep and cattle farms.  We navigated some precipitous terrain as well with deep canyons, dense subtropical forests and breathtaking views. During one portion of the trip we had to navigate a rather cirutious route called the Rauimu spiral.  a rather notable engineering feat that rises 139 meters which begins with a horseshoe curve

Legend has it that a train driver once emergency braked his train in the night upon mistaking the light of his last wagon on a nearby part of the spiral as the rear of a different train directly ahead of him.

Our first day in Wellington was spent doing training with the Wellington Mission Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leaders. The next day we visited various sites.

On the outskirts of Wellington is a site referred to as the Weta Workshop where all the animations and puppets for Lord of the Rings and a host of other movie sets were designed and constructed.

 The incredible attention to detail and life like creations were indeed impressive. A number of tour options were available. We opted to explore the museum and watch a short video presentation of the process of construction involved in making the props and often gruesome characters.

The story behind the development of the Company' from it's humble beginnings speaks to the vision, imagination and creative capacity of these early entrepreneurs. The facilities now encompass acres of land and are devoted to various aspects of set construction and design.






Peter Jackson the Director of Lord of the Rings went to great measures to ensure the depiction of characters was true to the form described in the novel. Being attentive to detail the end products represent works of art, creative adaptions designed to comply with the demands and constraints of the isolated movie sets.


For the tourists bronze figurines were intricately sculpted and on display and the price reflected the creative genius of the artisans. They would be an odd addition to a mantle piece, but would certainly capture the attention and the imagination of the beholder. Although tempted, these were well beyond my budgetary limits, yet still managed to captivate the visual possibilities.


The scope of the Lord of the Rings influence in New Zealand is quite remarkable. In a number of locations Kiwi's have capitalized on the tourist potential of these landmark movies and established venues to showcase New Zealand's diverse topography and capture the mystical elements of this enchanted land portrayed in the trilogy.


From there we took a bus back to Wellington to embark on an up hill adventure.  Wellington is best understood and appreciated when compared to the terrain of another well known tourist city - San Francisco. The train/tram took us on a seemingly impossible

climb to the top of a ridge. At the summit was a botanical garden covering the whole hillside overlooking the city in almost every direction.  The combined visual appeal of the of garden and the vista from the hill proved to be a unique combination.

We proceeded to follow the trails down the hill taking in the colour, fragrances and beauty of the surroundings.  This setting, ideal weather and good company made for a most pleasant afternoon.

Wellington also boasts a world class museum on the water front,  In fact the whole waterfront has been revitalized from an industrial dockyard to a well designed promenade featuring prominent historical landmarks, viewpoints and quaint shops, restaurants and walkways and all easy access from downtown.

Much more time could have been spent here. Whenever I find a place that offers a number amenities I imagine myself living there. Wellington is one of those places I could easily see myself enjoying.