It’s been over four years since I moved to Wellington and, despite always meaning to go, I had never visited Weta Workshop until now. The Covid-19 tourism restrictions on New Zealand that have been in place since March have got me thinking about all the great attractions that have been affected. It is an essential time for us locals to go and support our local tourism and enjoy the great things to do, right on our doorstep. After finally heading down for a tour, I believe there is no better time than right now to visit Weta Workshop.
Why now is the time to visit Weta Workshop!
If you are not yet familiar with Weta Workshop, they are an award-winning concept design and manufacturing facility founded by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, based in Miramar and known for the costume and prop work on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the rings. Film buffs from all over the world usually come flocking to check this super cool creative studio out.
Tourism is absolutely one of the hardest-hit industries from the pandemic this year and Weta Workshop has not been immune to this. Visitor numbers are dramatically down and although locals are showing up to support, they are definitely feeling it. BUT this bodes well for visitors who can get there now as it means things are quieter.
Lucas and I booked on to the Intro to Sculpting and Tour combo package. This was one of the hands-on workshops that Weta Workshop is running where you can get stuck into the creative artistry yourself as well as receive a tour of the workshop. And bonus, we arrived at our sculpting workshop to find we were the only ones on it, this was great as we got to work directly with the wonderful tutor, Tenant, and have our own personal tour too.
The sculpting workshop was really fun, we worked with small pieces of clay guided by Tenant to create our own monster heads. It was really unexpectedly therapeutic and Tenant led us through the process while allowing us to get our creative juices flowing! While we were creating we have entertained us with interesting stories and pieces of information from the many years the workshop have created a sculpture for film, as well as some juicy inside info from the film world.
Although it was our first time sculpting, we were pretty happy with the result – Lucas even came home and starting making sculptures of his deer antlers and reckons he’s got a bit of a gift for it! This was a different way to spend a Saturday morning and I would so recommend it. There is also the option to check out Leather and chain maille and Special effects makeup workshops which sound really fun too.
The sculpting was followed with our accidentally private tour through the showroom full of props and costumes and sets from the movies that Weta has worked on including Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Ghost in the Shell and District 9 to name a few. Cameras are not allowed in the showroom due to Copywrite reasons but take my word for it, it’s mesmerising. I was particularly taken with the uncanny likeness of the hobbit hands and feet and the amazing artistry it takes to plug individual hairs into a life-size King Kong to make it realistic.
A Weta workshop tour like this is not something I would have ordinarily thought to do if I had not been seeking out tourist attractions to support but I got so much out of it! It was truly a very unique experience and a special way to spend a Saturday morning with Lucas. If like me, you are not a big Lord of the Rings fan, trust me, there is sooooo much more to this experience.
NOW is the time to visit Weta, weather it’s for a tour or a workshop and from a non-film buff, I couldn’t recommend it more highly. They are fully complying with social distancing guidelines and it is vital for us to support our local tourism operators. Tickets are also going for a reduced price so if you needed another reason – there it is.
Enjoy!
*Weta Workshop was kind enough to gift me a reduced-priced ticket, however, I still paid to attend and everything in this post is my honest evaluation of the experience.
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Peace
Josie x
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