Foreigners in WWOOFers' Clothing: Ladies of the World

Since our last post, a bit has happened. The Kirsch and Hintermann families dropped by New Zealand for a holiday visit. Zoë previewed Christchurch and Wanaka in the South Island (though obviously not overly enjoying it because she was saving her enthusiasm for when she traveled there with Alice), while Alice traveled the North Island. Seeing family was cozy – being a kid had never been so much fun – and surreal – Nick, Zoë's brother, had grown 20,000 feet taller. It’s pretty weird to see people from back home here.

It was also pretty weird for Zoë and Alice not to see each other for ten whole days. By the middle of December, we had reached that uncomfortable stage where we could complete each other’s sentences, and we think that might have made people we met nervous. However, after our hiatus apart, we each had new stories, vocabulary words, and most important, jokes, to bring to the table.

Post-family visits, we met up in Auckland at our home-away-from-home, Borders Beyond, on December 31st. We had not only new thoughts, but also literal tons of freebies, namely teas and chocolates, items we wouldn’t normally purchase due to tight budgets. Giddy with excitement because this was the official start of our New Zealand Half Deux, we spent New Year’s Eve eating a Cooking-Beyond-Borders barbeque (crunchy salad, juicy meat, and smoky vege) and watching Sky Tower fireworks down by the wharf with new German and Swiss friends.

Soon after that evening, we bade Ernest and Mahes, the lovely owners of Borders Beyond, a teary farewell and embarked on three weeks of no-strings-attached travel. First, we made a beeline for Wellington. We’d recommend the Te Papa Museum (http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/pages/default.aspx); it’s got free admission and dynamic exhibits on New Zealand’s cultural and natural history.

Perhaps even more riveting (for Gandalf admirers like ourselves) was the Weta Workshop, what appeared to be a few industrial-looking buildings sitting nonchalantly in the middle of a Wellington neighborhood. They’re where movie magic happens: conceptual design, weapons, armor & chainmaille, specialist props, vehicles, specialty costumes, models & miniatures, special makeup & prosthetics, public art & displays for movies like Lord of the Rings, King Kong, the Chronicles of Narnia, and Avatar (Don't miss this movie! Blue cat-people have never been so cool-looking.)

What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop, so to speak, but visitors can tour the Weta Cave, a mini-museum that displays tasty items like…see for yourself...