Miramar

 Hi there

The weather forecast said it was going to be beautiful sunshine the entire day today.  Wow, I was going out to experience all that sun.  However, there was no sun -

above:  Inner harbour.  Photo taken from Miramar Wharf area. 

 The scenic seaside road leading around the Miramar Peninsula is directly to the right of photo.  It's a sort of loop.  The Chocolate Fish Cafe, an iconic place on the peninsula, is about a five minute ride along this road. 

Ive been told The Chocolate Fish is a Peter Jackson-owned place. And apparently the land beside it could be where he is going to build his new movie museum.  Rumours have been swirling about the whereabouts of the projected museum site for years.  He also owns a huge plot of land at Lyall Bay, opposite The Warehouse store.  Buildings have been  cleared from this site over the past year.

Some of Jackson's collectable memorabilia was lost in a storage fire a few years ago.

Scorch-a-Rama Cafe is on the other side of the peninsula, at Scorching Bay, about 20 minutes car-ride away from the Miramar wharf.   Walking takes over an hour to reach Scorching Bay, and its about another half hour to walk over the hill and back to Miramar.  Or keep walking past Worser Bay to get to Seatoun shops and transport. Take note that on much of the peninsula seaside road, there are no houses..

above:  same area but looking down towards the Airport runway and Cobham Drive.  Cobham Drive is named after a past Governor-General.  It was a time when all governors-general were sent to us from England for a certain number of years.  Now we always have a New Zealand governor-general.  The governor-general is the King's representative.

above  Miramar:   straight ahead is the main road leading out of Miramar, through the Miramar Cutting. On the left is Stone Street.  Stone Street Studios are where the 'Lord of the Rings", "King Kong" (and others)  were filmed.  There is a track leading up the hill above the studios and I traversed the hill whilst "King Kong" was being filmed - the outdoor scene that I saw was set around a fake lake, and obviously on The island.  At about the same  time, I also trekked up a very steep hill from the back of the Massey Memorial at the tip of the Miramar Peninsula and saw the cave set for King Kong.  When I had reached the top of the hill - puffing and panting -  I was immediately ordered back down again by the King Kong security people.

When I got home from today's wander, the sun came out.  I remember that one of the guys at Hataitai Beach used to call Jay and me "The Cloud Twins", because often when we arrived at the beach for a swim, it clouded over.

Walking Wellington

Hi there

In between my winter sea swimming, I'm walking around Wellington, still trying to get up and down steps and zig zags without my bad ankle hurting.

Below:  view from top of Hataitai hill, looking across inner harbour to Miramar Peninsular

below:  both pictures taken from zigzag leading down from  Maupuia hlll to Miramar wharf area.

Sunset from Miramar

Hi there

When I lived in the suburb of Strathmore I used to see wonderful sunsets.  Now, that I'm in Miramar, I don't get to see so many of them, because of houses, and trees, and hills blocking the way.  But last week, there was a glorious sunset -

Lord of the Rings filming in Miramar

Hi there

Every time I walk past the California Garden Centre in Miramar, Wellington, I think of the filming of Lord of the Rings.

On one of the 'making of the movie' DVDs, it's said that a scene, with riders and horses, was being filmed in a warehouse opposite the California.  Apparently, there wasn't enough room for the thundering horses to slow down their wild run inside the warehouse so the main doors were opened, the gates of the California Garden Centre were thrown open too, and when the horses pell-melled it out of the building, they crossed the road still at a ferocious gallop,  and only managed to be slowed down in the grounds of the garden centre.

The garden centre building was once a huge tank and is now full of plants, gifts, cafe.  It's practically next door to Park Road Post, the post production film place.  It's a minute or two from Weta Workshop, about fifteen minutes walk from the studio.  Here's California -

Churches in Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Hi there

When I was in America I was intrigued to see a church on practically every suburban block.  But when I got back to Wellington, I realised that in, say, a 300 metre area in my suburb of Wellington, we have the churches of Holy Cross, St Aidan's, Salvation Army, Gospel Hall, and Baptist.  And about a km down the road is an Indian Temple.

Above: Gospel Hall sign.

Halloween in Miramar, Wellington

About a decade ago, New Zealanders hardly gave Halloween (Happy Birthday, Peter Jackson!) a thought.  Nowadays, a few kids dress up and trot along with their parents to see Gran and get some lollies (sweeties, candy, depends on which other country you come from).  But folk just do not decorate their houses or grounds.

However, for the last couple of years there's been a house in Miramar that has dolled up their fences on Halloween.  It's become known by neighbourhood kids as 'The Halloween House".  They love going there.  The house is owned, I believe, by someone who works for Weta.  There are lots of Americans working at Weta.

 

Weta Cave and Stone Street Studios, Miramar

I like living on the Miramar Peninsula in Wellington.  So many overseas people wander around Miramar nowadays, both tourists and film workers, and I love the buzz of it all.
As well as Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Park Road Post (Production), and the Stone Street Studios (see bottom photo), we now have the Weta Cave.  This is an add-on to the Weta Workshop and sells everything Weta-orientated.  There's also a mini-museum of film props, and they show a wonderful (free) film about the growth of Weta.   If anyone is interested in going to the Weta Cave, just take a no 2 bus from town and get off one stop before the end, and even if you 'over-run', it's only a short walk back to Camperdown Road. 
There is a 'sculpture' of a Komodo Dragon outside the Weta Cave (peer closely at second photo). 

Ah-ha, it's not really a sculpture.  It's a mould of a Komodo Dragon that died at the San Diego Zoo.  Weta made one for themselves and one is now at the zoo.
After the Cave, walk a minute or so (towards the direction of the zig-zag path, but don't go up it, unless you want to do 'the short loop')  along Camperdown Road to Park Road.  On Park Road, you'll pass (see top photo) Park Road Post.  My fave game is trying to work out which window would belong to Peter Jackson.  Many buildings along the first half of this road belong to the movie industry, so keep an eye open for 'things happening' inside the old warehouses.
Keep walking for about ten minutes to the Miramar shops.  You'll find the Roxy Theatre.  Ask if you can go upstairs to look at the decor and any exhibition that might be happening.  Look at the ceiling art.
From the Roxy, turn right around the corner at the Indian restaurant, and walk a minute or so down Miramar Avenue  to New World Supermarket.  You're at Stone Street, home of director Peter Jackson's Stone Street Studios. 
Then trot back to the Miramar shops to catch a no 2 bus back to town.