On the morning of my flight from Auckland to Wellington, I was so afraid that I would have problems returning my rental car, not having wifi, and dealing with bullshit that I got to the car rental place at 4:30 am. It ended up being a breeze, they were already opened and provided a shuttle to the airport. I arrived and they wouldn’t even check me in for my 7:30 am flight. I met this German traveler and we talked for like an hour about the film industry and astrology and being German. Both of us being people who work in film, have German ancestry and are earth signs, well of course we were 3 hours early for our domestic flight.
I arrived, stored my luggage and walked to Weta Cave, the only reason I wanted to visit Wellington in the first place. There was a really inspiring documentary about Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger, the founders of the studio. It’s so awesome to hear real life stories about artists that start with nothing but their creativity and end up being big time industry players that make millions. Weta Workshop would be an amazing place to work. It seems like every new project they take on is a challenge. There is no mold for the kind of work that they do and the kind of technology they’ve developed to make dreams into visual stories. Truly amazing, and such a small crew that it feels accessible to be a part of. You’re not really allowed to take pictures on the tour, but there are a lot of displays outside the tour you can photograph.
The next day I kept it pretty simple, did some grocery shopping, upped my data for my hotspot, went to a botanical garden and had a really good meal. The botanical gardens were cute, set in a great big park on a hill. Wellington has lots of hills. I went home, painted my nails, shaved and did things that felt lady like before my big adventure to the south.
The next day I got on the ferry and the journey there was beautiful. I had that feeling that you know God lives in nature. But still that day, I had anxiety and realized all of the most beautiful things in nature, art or any experience I can have are nothing compared to the love that I have for others and the love that I need from others. It’s not enough to be happy just experiencing these things when you’re separated from the people who possess your heart, in other words. I began to accept that truth, and let down my survival instinct a bit and admit to myself that I can’t live without those people. Still, I had a little nap and felt refreshed and ready to begin the last part of my trip.
look down, look up 