Kia Ora from Aotearoa!

Or "Hello from New Zealand"....

After a great flight where we each got three seats to ourselves to stretch out and sleep, we arrived in Wellington almost 24 hours after our initial departure.  Unfortunately, not all of us made it.  Due to circumstances beyond her control, Janet was forced to pull out of the exchange only two days before our departure. Janet, we will miss you sorely and look forward to catching up with you upon our return.

When we arrived in Auckland, we were met by the NZ GSE team leader, Andy, who got up extra early in the morning to catch the 7:50 flight with us to Wellington.  Immediately upon exiting the arrival ramp, we were greeted by a force of enthusiasitc New Zealanders (including District Governor, Graeme, and his wife, Christine) holding a huge Canadian flag.  To say that we felt warmly welcomed would be an understatement - we felt immediately at home, and although the skies were grey for the first time in almost three months, the warm weather and even warmer welcome lifted our spirits and gave us a boost of energy.

Our welcome at the airport

In fact, we had such a boost of energy that we decided to make the ten minute car ride to Weta - the epicentre of special effects for movies such Lord of the Rings, District 9, Avatar, the Hobbit, and many, many others.  We watched a very interesting film about how Weta got started and all the amazing work that they do.  Then, we were led on a tour of a Weta Workshop by one of the artists who has just finished working on the last of the Hobbit movies.  He told us that most of the artists working at Weta are self-taught, which is amazing. This inside look at the making of such incredible movies has inspired me to take a much closer look the next time I am watching something with special effects!

With our tour guide outside the Weta Workshop

After Weta, we were off for morning tea at a nearby movie house and cafe, which has been restored by Peter Jackson in the old Art Deco style.  It also has a touch of the modern with embellishments from the artists at Weta.

Gandolf inside the movie house

Then, we were lucky enough to see Wellington and the surrounding area from one of the highest and windiest lookout points.  From there you could see the site of the 1968 shipwreck that killed 150 people.  The ship ran aground due to winds of 270 kph!

On top of Mount Victoria

The view from Mount Victoria

The view of Te Papa from across the water

Finally, we headed over to Te Papa, the amazingly large museum and science centre.  While it would take us several days to do it justice, we were able to learn a bit more about the local history and Maori culture.

In front of the modern marae (Maori meeting house) in Te Papa

It was then time for some very weary travellers to head off to our respective host homes for some much needed rest and relaxation. 

Thank you Andy, Diana, Heather, Jim, Katrina, Rachel, and John for an amazing first day!