5 Day Wellington

DAY 01 – Wellington

You will be picked up at the airport and taken to your hotel where you will check in for 4 nights.  The balance of your day is at leisure.

DAY 02 – Capital Tastes Tour

This tour is the perfect morning walking tour, running until approximately 1pm, with around 90 minutes of walking.  Throughout your tour, you will be introduced to New Zealand’s ‘culinary, coffee and craft beer capital’. On Sundays, your itinerary will include the lovely waterfront Harbourside food market.

DAY 03 – Lord of the Rings Full Day Tour

This full day tour encompasses the best Lord of the Rings locations the Wellington Region has to offer.  Starting with a central city pick up, you scale Mt Victoria and stop at the lookout for unbeatable views of Wellington City and Harbour, before a short descent into a unique pine forest where Peter Jackson began the filming of his epic trilogy. You see such scenes as “Shortcut to Mushrooms,” “Race to the Buckleberry Ferry,” and the iconic “Get off the Road” scene, where the Hobbits hid from the Black Riders.

Following this, you will take a short trip to Miramar, the home of the Wellington film industry. We show you the studios and post production facilities that helped bring these films to screen before settling at Weta. Here you have a chance to pose for photos with various characters and marvel at the craftsmanship of the sculptures, armour and weapons on display and pick up those essential souvenirs and gifts. Here also, you watch a behind the scenes documentary that details the history of the Weta company, from its origins through to present day, and enjoy the “Windows into Workshop” tour. Guided by an actual Weta technician, this tour delves into the creativity and ingenuity needed to create the physical effects for some of the biggest and best movies ever, not just Middle-earth. It will leave you amazed at the vast influence Weta has had on the film industry and in no doubt why we call the area “Wellywood.”

With so much information to absorb in the morning, you begin the afternoon with an orc sized lunch from a brilliant beach side cafe called Scorch-O-Rama (included in this tour).  Once refuelled, you can relax as your guide tells more stories of how Lord of the Rings came to life in New Zealand as you head towards more filming locations out of the city.

DAY 04 – Day at Leisure

Day at leisure today.  If you wish to be active, we recommend embarking in activities such as mountain biking or sea-water kayaking, or one of the stunning walks around the harbour and surrounding hills. You can also visit Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, New Zealand’s national museum – not to be missed!

DAY 05 – Depart

You will be picked up for transfer to the airport today… why not stay longer?