I went on my first adventure outside of Dunedin!  And what an adventure it was!  I took the weekend off and went to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.  Actually, I took three days off: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Due to the massive amount of interesting and touristy things I did, I will be splitting my Wellington posts in to these three days.  So, lets start with Friday!
PictureSunrise over Wellington on my return trip.
My flight was at 6:50 am, and I needed to be there early!  So, after a quick breakfast and a wonderful shuttle, I got on the plane and took off for the capital!  From now on, I only ever want to take early morning flights.  Both my arrival and departure flights were at 6:50 in the morning and both times I got to watch the sunrise from the air.  The sunrise created a perfect melted rainbow in the sky, the deep red slowly creeping over the wing and illuminating the clouds and land below us.  The white capped peaks of the Kaikoura Range stuck out of the foggy, blue-grey land like crunched up tin foil.  

Arriving in Wellington, I still needed to grab a bit of something good to eat and warm to drink.  I found a cafe on a street corner that looked great and ordered a muffin and a cappuccino.  A few minutes later a gorgeous cup of espresso, milk, and foam and a warm banana nut muffin were placed in front of me.  The cappuccino was overflowing with powdered cocoa and the milk/foam was so thick that it held the shape of a leaf (that means it's good!).  Delicious.  Then, the muffin was warm, fluffy, and melted in my mouth.  It was a wonderful start to my touristy day.  
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My first meal in Wellington.
After breakfast, I headed over to the Te Papa Museum.  My method for discovering museums is to start at the top and work my way down, and luckily the special exhibit I bought tickets to was on the top floor.  So, first I saw the "Colour & Light: Impressionism from France & America" collection.  Impressionism is my favorite period of painting.  I love the way all of the artists--like Monet, Degas, Cassatt, and Renoir--are able to capture wind, movement, and light in their paintings.  Whenever looking at Impressionist paintings, I always stand in the center of the room and look at all of them, because they are clearer from a distance.  But once I step forward, I love seeing the thickness of the paint and the amounts of colour used.  I especially enjoyed this collection because it featured many snowy scenes instead of the usual warm spring and summer paintings.
The museum had many other things to discover: jewelry, clothes, sculpture, a marae, taxidermy, world history, and interactive activities.  For example, near the pickled giant squid there was a little touch screen where you could find out about parts of squids, where they live, and create your own.  Mine was named Oogie.  He was blue and purple and really enjoyed taking long swims in the morning sunlight.  I also had a blast in many of the other exhibits (like the creation of the world one and the Maori history one) because I am currently learning about those subjects in my Maori Society paper.  I was actually able to apply my knowledge!  Even if you didn't know what something was, there were explanations of every piece in the museum.  I am more of an observer and hands-on museum-goer, though.  So, I was thankful for my lectures and textbook.
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My favorite part of the Te Papa Museum, the Marae.
Next, for lunch, I explored the delightful Cuba St.  I wandered around, found cute clothing shops, more cafes, restaurants of every style, and street performers.  Eventually, I found the Aunty Mena Vegetarian Cafe.  This place was incredible; it was recommended by The Lonely Planet and won the best vegetarian restaurant in 2011 and 2012.  I got soup, and didn't feel as under-the-weather--sick--afterwards.  The beautiful weather for the rest of the day helped, too.  But, the next place I went to see was what set my mood into happy over-drive: Weta Cave.
In case you aren't aware, Wellington is commonly called Wellywood.  New Zealand is a hot spot for filming, and the Weta workshop is the place to go if you need props, weapons, designs, prosthetics, armor, miniatures, digital effects, and much, much more.  Have you ever seen the Lord of the Rings Trilogy?  The Hobbit?  Avatar, District 9, Water Horse, Tintin, Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Hellboy, or The Lovely Bones?  Then you have seen the work of Weta Workshop.  And really, they are amazing.  Weta cave specializes in prop replicas and character sculptures...but I got a backstage tour of the studio.  And WOW!  I got to see Sauron's armor, some guns from District 9, the miniature of the castle from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and designs from many movies.  Not to mention, I got to hold Sting.  And it wasn't a replica, it was one used for the films!  And for future reference, if you are going to buy a "replica" of armor or weapons from a movie...it will probably be more realistic if you buy the toy version because everything--everything--is made of plastic!  Chain maille, armor, guns, swords, you name it.  If it is used for fighting, it's probably plastic.  Why plastic?  It's light, durable, and easy to paint.  Imagine having to make hundreds of metal swords for all the warriors in a war scene...
PictureTrolls! In the front courtyard!
I've got to say, even though it was cool seeing all the props, meeting a sculptor, and messing with some prosthetics (Bombur's forearm), the best part of the tour was our tour guide.  He worked in the studio, was Fili's body double for all the armor, and was hilarious.  For example, my favorite moment was at the station with different silicone face pieces.  In front of us was a cast of Billy Boyd's head.  Our guide says, "Billy Boyd, he's quite a handsome fellow, isn't he.  And he's Scottish.  They've got the best accents in the world, don't you agree?"  He then proceeded to tell us about make-up in a flawless Scottish accent.  

That evening, I explored a bit more of the city.  What I love about Wellington is that it is a different type of city (at least, for me).  When I think of cities, I think of New York, Philadelphia, skyscrapers for miles, polluted air, and crowded streets.  Wellington is none of the above.  The city is spread out, with the only skyscrapers in center city (and even then, they aren't as big as American ones).  The city is big, but it doesn't feel like it because of the spacing of the buildings, which leads to less lingering gasoline (pollution) and giant crowds of people.  
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The amazing street performer at the Wellington Night Market on Cuba St.
Anyways, there was a night market where I got dinner, went to an op shop, and listened to amazing live music.  The street singer we watched is not someone I would by a CD for.  That does not mean he is terrible.  He could sing very well, but what made his act was his performance.  He would record and loop himself playing the guitar, bass, percussion, and voice parts (harmony and percussion).  Then he would manipulate the different parts all with the tap of his foot.  He would cut some additons for dramatic effect, play them all at major points, and patch them in and out for a hypnotic, techno feel.  It was incredible.  The entire day was incredible.  And, as I would soon find out, the entire weekend was incredible.

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