Weta and the waterfront.

On Sunday we had booked a trip to Weta Workshop given that we had enjoyed the War displays at the War Memorial and the huge figures from WW1 at Te Papa which had been constructed by Weta. Gollum was there to greet us.  Let the magic begin!

We had a very friendly, knowledgeable tour guide called Rebecca. Because Weta now does so much for other companies we were not able to photograph  many of the Weta Workshops that she took us through. Just a few doors down the street is Weta Digital which is a whole other industry and then further down the road are The Stone Street Studios where a lot of the films are produced.

So totally beleivable

Bilboa Baggins' feet

Peter Jackson produced Meet the Feebles in the 80's. Its like the Muppets on the dark side

Each character has several figurines made before going on to produce the props and clothing.

Help!!! he's just pierced my skull!!

Punch him in the balls! Actually he was really aiming for the chest.

We watched one of the workers  doing this set of leather armour  - the intricate work is done with a black glue

Mock up of a space station

An "Ideas Board" from the earliest of meetings for a certain scene.

We walked back to our hotel  from the Isite where the tour ended and had a rest before walking down to Circa to see the Tom Scott play "Joan" about his Irish mother. It was a 4pm session favoured by the elderly so there was a short delay while the wheelchairs were moved into position. The lights dimmed and someone let out a fruity fart! No-one even laughed - we were all thinking thank goodness it wasn't me. Both Duncan and I had read Tom Scott's recent book Drawn Out, so the script was quite familiar to us - but Ginette MacDonald (aka Lynn of Tawa from many moons ago) was brilliant. We walked back to the hotel and later walked back along the waterfront to St Johns - a restaurant in the old ambulance rooms. They have lovely shared plates here.

This is a deconstructed raspberry cheesecake - which I didn't share!

Studying the field.

The next outing was to the races at Trentham. On the way to the railway station we saw the sculpture to commemorate Katherine Mansefield  - very striking.

 And everyone knows that Wellington shoreline used to be halfway through town - perhaps these shapely shells are to commemorate that!

 Once we got to the railway station there were lots of people in posh outfits - we hadn't really dressed up much as we were just going into the general stand. The outfits for the races were stunning - decidedly out of our league. I had opted for flat sandals rather than 6 inch heels.

Many of the photos I have taken from behind so as to not embarrass myself.

Here are the ladies entering for the Fashion in the Field

This lady is the compere and she had several changes of clothes

The girl in the full teal skirt caused quite a stir when the wind whipped up her dress

This gentleman entered in the Men's section (but did not win)

Heads down - concentrating on those 6" heels

This lady entered into the fascinator section

Wobble Wobble....

The eventual winner - oh no miss large teal is right behind!! She entered Fashion in the Field too!

But this was my pick - a teal jumpsuit with a frothy black and white blouse.

The man with the pink bag is cricketer Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee has a bouquet in black and white paper to present to the winner.

 After lunch, a few winning bets and fashion  we were having a good time - the weather was stunning. The crowds really swelled. Much alcohol was being consumed, and some of the 6" heels were removed. Sprays of alcohol started up and some of the less stable outfits revealed a boob or two.

 We went down to the birdcage as a neighbour of ours from Stout street had a horse races. It was 12. I practised a photo on horse 11, but 12 never appeared. Apparently it had been unruly and was taken straight to the starting gate. I had backed it each way -it was paying huge odds, but it came in 4th so no dividend.

Showing the members stand

It was a very big course -  bigger than Poverty Bay so it was hard to see where the horses started.

No 12 coming in 4th

The main event was the Wellington Cup. By now we were over it, hot, tired and not winning much - all the races were very close. The music played so loudly you couldn't hear the commentary and we regretted not going to one of the more refined areas. We decided to leave before the last race. As luck would have it we missed the train into town by a minute or so, so we had a hot wait for the next one in half an hour, which was packed.

The guy across the aisle was looking decidedly green, but I'm happy to report he made it into Wellington without causing a messy problem.
We had a bit of a rest before walking down to the Wellington waterfront where we had a meal at a pasta and pizza place which wasn't very good on service.

In the field

It was an early start on Friday as we headed off an a typical retirees weekend away in Wellington. We took the bus into town to stay at the Ibis - rooms a bit small but good price for pensioners.Of course we got there before our room was ready so we began the slow amble towards  the Basin Reserve, with a coffee and muffin break along the way.  Of course  we got there well before the game started but it was fascinating to get acclimatised  to watching the whole field rather than just the whole of the TV.

Team practising before the toss.

Duncan wanted to sit in the R A Vance Stand. It was a good decision as the day got very hot, it was shaded but the steps up to our seats were very steep.

There is a good start from New Zealand, with Guptill going on to make 100. I have to say I was disappointed that the lovely Laura McGoldrick-Guptill did not do the sideline interviews - she must have been at home minding the baby.

NZ does pretty well at batting

The elderly gentleman sitting next to me was Pakastani, but he said he had been here for 44 years. I asked him who he was supporting and he said he thought he might support NZ given the past few games. His (adult) grandson was with him - but he slipped away probably for a beer or two for quite a bit of the game.

The best thing about being there was seeing the field placement

I think this is Santner coming to the crease.

I was disgusted with Lachie Ferguson which seemed to be giving away far too many runs. At one stage the overs seemed to be slipping away from us and I let rip with a BOOO as the Pakistanis scored another boundary. The cricket fans in the R A Vance stand looked askance but after a few more boundaries there was a general muttering of BOOO resounding through the stand. In the end Lachie "bought" the wicket and the last Pakistani was out, caught trying to hit another big shot.
In the end we won 271/7NZ against Pakistan 256 all out, but it was a good game which got a little bit too close for comfort in the last four overs.

We walked back to the Ibis and had a freshen up before going to Avida a Spanish Tapas place which we loved. We enjoyed having a Rioja wine as well - reminding us of our trip to this area of Spain in 2006

The one on my plate is honeyed feta in a choux pastry

The beginning of 2018

On the first day of the year we went to Paul and Rachel's land in Kawerau. It looks like they will have a heap of work to get their Macadamia orchard up and running, but of course they have the advantage of being much younger than us! But I think it will be all hands on deck when they do come to plant.
Bad forecasts were starting to appear, and when Lyn went home on the second, quite a few people decided to pull out a few days early and get their camping gear home while it was dry.
We didn't get much rain to start with and we were sheltered from the wind where we are nestled into the hill.

 At about 9pm on the 4th the wind swung around and by 10pm Duncan and I were battling to bring down the gazebo which thankfully seemed to manage to do, with a shoulder strain for me and a side strain for Duncan -such a bother getting old.

 The waves were banked up to about 9 rollers in a row - so high you couldn't see the horizon. The wind whipped up the surf into frothy waves which coated the sandhills and actually knocked some areas of sandhills over

 It was the deafening roar that kept us awake and meant that on the day of my 66th birthday I did indeed look 66 - if not 96!

The waves from the sea came within metres of the flooding from the rain running off the hills. Fortunately the sandy soil meant that it wasn't too long before it soaked away.

 Not to be daunted we chose to set off for Whakatane to have a birthday lunch rather than Indian in Opotiki.  This is the kayak launching area across the road from the camp. And then again a few days later. Look for the little red sign on the left to compare.

Before we got to the Boat Ramp on our way to Whakatane we were turned back by debris on the road, so road closed.

We had to go the long way to Whakatane. We went to the French Cafe, which had unfortunately split itself into Two parts. Because I had set my heart on the crepes we had to have lunches in both places.

Mine is cinnamon and apple, Duncans is raspberry and chocolate.

Sort of like a birthday cake.

Oh very birthday party, Heather

So we just an an antipasto platter for dinner. Weather still a bit rough.

No this lump is not me after all the  crepes on my birthday, but a sealion called Blossom who frequents this area. She was obviously tired out battling the seas.