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.

Wandering Wellington's Eastern Suburbs

Hi there

I love walking Wellington.  Winter, summer, any season.  So, surely my four readers will have no trouble visualising the anguish I went through for six months this year whilst my knee was healing from that stupid fall when I tripped over a tree-root as I hiked the Eastbourne hills.  It took me five hours to complete the hike and finally reach home.  So much for icing the leg immediately, and elevating the leg immediately, and resting the leg immediately ...

I like walking the Miramar hills.  When I reach the top of that high walkway that takes you down the slope to Scorching Bay, I always stand there and ooh and aah over the view. My heart lifts when I see lovely scenery.

And when I've taken my fill of Scorching Bay from atop the hill, I merrily trip down to cavort on the beach or stop for a break at Scorch-A-Rama, the cafe.  Under the name The Chocolate Fish, this cafe was frequented by many of The Lord of the Rings' stars when they were filming the trilogy here in Wellington. 

above:  Scorch-A-Rama has tables across the road from the cafe.  Waiters wear hi-vis vests and dodge the traffic to feed the customers.

Mt Ruapehu ... Mt Doom, Lord of the Rings

A couple of weeks ago, I drove along The Desert Road.  Once I drove this road in such a fog, I couldn't see my car's bonnet (hood, if you're American).  Another time, the rain was so bad, I again couldn't see the bonnet.  So scary when you're driving an awful road for about 40 minutes.  I won't travel The Desert Road in the winter.

But I love looking over to Mt Ruapehu which stood in for Mt Doom in the movie "The Lord of the Rings".

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 -

Feeling Sorry for myself

Hi there

Back to dentists again, sorry.  The past seven days have seen me feeling all sorry for myself.  I blame the dentist.  All dentists.  Every dentist who has ever existed ...   In my mind, dentists are one step above medieval torturers ....

A week ago the dentist went ahead and seemingly emptied the contents of an entire drawer into my mouth.  Since then I have been having to put up with bruising and tearing and pain (oh, my).  I haven't been able to open my mouth very wide at all to eat.   I've been living on creamed corn, mashed potato, scrambled eggs and Weight Watchers chicken casserole for days .... and days.  My friends have suggested tins of baby food, but I nixed that.

Yesterday, I bought a blueberry muffin from New World.  I had to break it up into a thousand crumbs.  The muffin took about an hour to eat.

And to think that the tortune goes on next Monday with another hour and a half scheduled session. 

Still ... I pulled myself away from my lethargy and forced myself to go for a walk during the weekend.  I traversed the zig-zag path down to Scorching Bay.   The first photo is of the bay from about halfway down the path.  In the second picture (click on it) you might be able to see the outdoor tables and chairs that belong to the cafe "Scorch-a-Rama".  This cafe used to be called  "The Chocolate Fish" and when "The Lord of the Rings" was being filmed, the actors and crew used to love going there for a bite to eat.  I believe, under it's new name, the cafe has been popular, too, with "Hobbit" and Weta Workshop workers    The cafe building is separated from the beachside tables and chairs by a road.  Waiters have to face maybe-death-by-traffic to deliver meals.

Miramar filmdom.

Hi there

I was looking at some old photos and thought you might like to see the following. I was wandering around the Miramar area several years ago, and, outside a panel-beaters, I chanced upon a host of vintage cars. On second look, the vehicles didn't look quite vintage to me. They looked as if they'd been built and painted in a slapdash way. Turned out they were vehicles from the Peter Jackson movie "King Kong". I went back over several days to check on progress. I guess I can now show the pictures.

And during all the "Lord of the Rings"/King Kong business, there was a boat parked in the Stone Street Studios yard. I think you can probably see the name on the aft if you click on the picture.

Below is a rowboat used in "King Kong". I got told off for taking photo.  I just chanced upon the activity as I was walking along Stone Street where the studios are. 

Swimming at Hataitai beach

Hi there

J and  I have been cruising along with our swimming since about October.  Today everything ,changed.  We got in the water, and there was beautiful blue sky overhead, but by the time we got out, thunder clouds were approaching.  The winds were chilly.,

And my feet in my sandals were freezing.   Freezing toes usually means winter swimming is on the way.

J's chauffeur met us as we were coming out of the water.  He said the forecast for this afternoon was thunder, hail, cold, rain.   As I drove home, it started to rain.  And as I type this, (about an hour out from the beach ) I cannot seem to get warm.

Oh dear, will we be able to complete winter swimming - we go in wearing just our bathing suits, no wet suits for us! - this year.  Or will we chicken out?

The first day of Autumn, here in NZ, was 1 March.......  

brrrrhhhhh...

(Oh, heck, I better sign off as I can hear thunder coming from over Island Bay way.  I don't want possible lightening to home in on my computer)

Here's a not very good photo of one of the gateposts at Weta Workshop, in Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand, just up the road from where I live.  It depicts a dwarf from The Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies.

Beach friends meet-up.. Plus... Hobbit 2

Hi there
Yesterday (Saturday NZ time) was a truly lovely warm cloudless day in Wellington.  Many of my summer friends turned up at Hataitai Beach and we chatted nineteen-to-the-dozen about the winter months.  It is so great to see folk that you havent seen since last summer.   Everybody agreed the water was warm-ish and those whose first time it was swimming this season got in with barely a whimper.  We've given up counting swims for this month, J and I have had so many of them.  Today, I'm a fraction sunburnt.

.The Wellington City Council have already painted over yesterday's graffiti that was on the changing shed's wall  There was a 'wet paint' notice but, as everyone knows, of course, when such a notice is on display nobody, repeat nobody, can resist some finger touching.

I see that Red Carpert Tours, the tour group that takes tourists around NZ searching out everything related to the "Lord of the Rings" movie will be having an exclusive dress-up night at the Roxy Theatre in Miramar next month, immediately prior to the midnight screening of Hobbit 2  (I still can't pronounce or spell 'Desolation" or "Smaug" - I had to look up the spelling just now).  What's the betting that some high-ups from the movie will be guests that night?

That reminds me, when I drove past Mt Ruapehu a couple of months ago, the mountain just looked so beautiful.  All snowy, pristine, wintery.  Mt Ruapehu stood in for Mt Doom in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Corvettes at the Roxy Theatre

We have this picture theatre on my  Miramar Peninsula (in Wellington, New Zealand).  The Roxy.  It's owned by Richard Taylor, Tania Roger and Jamie Selkirk. (all oscar winners).  With the aid of Weta designers they have made the theatre up to resemble a theatre from the nineteen-thirties.  The ceiling on the first floor looks a bit Sistine Chapel-ish, except there are robots instead of biblical characters and gods - though, I guess, some folk might think robots are gods.

Today, was Fathers' Day so in their cafe and restaurant (Coco) the Roxy had a Corvette and Beer day for the dads.

Eleven Corvettes rolled up. Jamie Selkirk owns the blue Corvette..

Here's a very small portion of the Roxy first floor ceiling

After eating at Coco, my friend and I went along to the Weta Cave, (Weta movie products shop and /a tiny museum of Jackson/Taylor movie props).. I was trying out my new camera.  I held the camera at arm's length away from me, and I could see my picture on the front of the camera as well as it coming up on the screen at the back, thereby making sure it's not just my nose I get in the shot like I used to with my old camera where I couldnt see me at all (goodness all that sounds complicated).  I posed beside a replica of Gandalf - Ian McKellen -  from "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.