Wellington, NZ (9/22-23/2025)

Monday, September 22, 2025

We departed at 8:00 for the 4.5 hour drive to Wellington, NZ.

Stopped for lunch at KFC, where I had a
Katsu bowl (Crispy chicken with jasmine rice,
crunchy slaw, Japanese mayo, and a choice
of teriyaki sauce or chili relish

We dropped off the rental car at the Wellington Airport, and took a taxi to the Bay Plaza Hotel.

Bay Plaza Hotel room

Bay Plaza Hotel room

Bay Plaza Hotel bathroom

It was pouring rain in Wellington, and the city is
considered the world's windiest major city 

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Still pouring rain as we walked past the Embassy Theatre
(1924, by Llewellyn Williams in Neoclassical style with
Art Deco influences); was refurbished in time for the 2003
 world premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of
the King; plus hosting the Australasian premieres of The
Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Two Towers (2002),
as well as of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012

Tripod (2005, by the Weta Workshop) is made with hydraulic
pistons and recycled mechanical parts including old camera
reels, Nintendo Gameboys, Nintendo 64 controllers, toasted
sandwich maker, radio and railway sleepers, with the camera
made from an engine block and a hairdryer for the view finder;
it is a tribute to Wellington's film and television industry (KSS)

We caught a bus, paying with our own credit cards,
to see the Parliament, yet saw only The Beehive
(1969-1979, by Sir Basil Spence) that houses
the Prime Minister and Cabinet offices (KSS)

Walk the Line (2015, by Joe Sheehan)
has 231 disks of pounamu/nephrite jade
to mark the route of the now
underground Waipiro Stream (KSS)

In the foreground is the Cenotaph (1931,
by Richard Gross) featuring a bronze
figure on horseback to commemorate
those who died in World War I (KSS)

Not only was the rain annoying, but I was suffering hip pain. We hopped on a bus to return to the hotel. However, when I tried to disembark, I could not take any weight on my left leg without excruciating pain. Kent and two other passengers just about carried me off the bus, and the driver came out to help. It has taken me longer and longer to get past the pain to be able to walk. Thus ended the planned exploration of Wellington.

We took a taxi to an Urgent Care type facility, so that I could obtain a doctor's report in case we needed to cut the trip short, and to get a stronger medication for inflammation. We spent six hours there.

Next: The Lord of the Rings Tour.