Putangirua Pinnacles, New Zealand
Matt and I were halfway through our New Zealand honeymoon when we woke up early on Christmas morning with the intention of getting all fixed up and heading straight to the 9am mass at St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Church in downtown Wellington.
St. Mary of the Angels is a beautiful cathedral with stunning stained glass and high ceilings fortified with earthquake-proof beams and fixtures, which are easily visible from the pews. In 2010 and 2011, Christchurch, NZ, a city in the South Island, experienced two devastating earthquakes that could be felt as far away as Wellington, so the cathedral staff decided to spend much of its money on strengthening the building in the event of a closer earthquake. Mass was quite familiar, since Catholic masses around the world are virtually identical regardless of which church you visit. We were so glad to get to sing Christmas carols and listen to a message about joy and peace in the world. The most entertaining part of the service was the toddler in front of us who kept turning around to share her Christmas ornament with us.
After mass, we headed back to the hotel, where we called our families and were greeted with very pleasant news from Matt’s mom: the stranger at our door was delivering a gift, and no one had been tampering with my car—someone had left candy canes on the door handles!!
After we phoned home, Matt and I changed into hiking gear and set off in search of lunch in a city that totally shuts down on Christmas Day. “Wellington,” as our hotel clerk kindly explained, “is not like London: people in Wellington do not go out and celebrate Christmas in the stores and in the bars. They go home to their families, and so the city is quiet for a day.” Because the city was literally empty, it was a bit difficult finding a spot to eat, but after some driving, we finally happened upon a hotel that was serving lunch to its guests (and luckily, to us as well). Lunch was all we could have wanted on a Christmas away from family: the restaurant provided Christmas crackers for each of us, and everyone wore their hats cheerfully. We toasted with champagne and a special Christmas lunch designed by the staff, complete with tiramisu for dessert.
It was with full stomachs and happy hearts that we drove to the city center to climb Mount Victoria, which is a 196-meter lookout at the very top of Wellington. The view from the top provides gorgeous 360-degree scenic vistas of the homes and businesses below, the harbor, ships sailing in and out to sea, and the hills circling the city. Although we took the shortest route up the mountain (about a 15-minute climb), we were both totally winded at the top since the final hike is practically vertical. (And hilariously, I took a spill coming down the hill).
Mount Victoria Park is also home to one of my very favorite scenes in Lord of the Rings: the scene where the hobbits hide from the Nazgul rider underneath a gnarly tree before making their way out of the Shire to Bree. It took us all of five minutes to find this tree, as it was specially marked with signs and tourists. If you’re on Facebook, feel free to check out my video, in which I reenact the scene with complete artistry and grace (HA).
After Mount Victoria shenanigans, we pealed out of the city and headed two and a half hours southeast to Cape Palliser, a peninsula near Wellington with beautiful views of mountain ranges and the ocean beneath. Since the cities shut down on Christmas, we decided it was best to spend our day hiking. What we didn’t know was that the drive to Cape Palliser included a harrowing 16km-drive through the Rimutaka Mountains. The Rimutaka Range runs parallel with the east coast of the North Island, separating Wellington from the East Cape and the small towns within it. The East Cape is home to great hiking, stellar beaches, and wine country (more on that in a few days!).
The drive across the Rimutakas is narrow and winding, with incredible views that left me awestruck and a bit breathless as we climbed and descended quickly. Little did he know, by the end of our stint in Wellington, Matt would drive the Rimutaka pass four times.
On our way east, we made a quick pit stop in Kaitoke Regional Park in the Upper Hutt area of Wellington, as it is home of the elves (or really, home to the famous Rivendell scenes in Lord of the Rings). Although there are no physical reminders of the filming activity, the Rivendell location is a flat area surrounded by beautiful native bush, with information boards detailing the work taken to create the site. Matt and I were lucky enough to get to see filming locations with specially marked trees showing us where Rivendell and Elrond’s home had been placed during filming.
Most exciting was the Elven Archway replica in the park. Although it was not used in the filming of the movies, it was easy to pretend like elves while we walked under it.
Upon arriving in the East Cape, Matt and I set out through farmland to Putangirua Park. We sought out this unusual hike due to its connection with Lord of the Rings (I know, shocking). The Putanigura Pinnacles were featured in the third movie, where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli walk the Dimholt Road to the Army of the Dead.
To reach the Pinnacles, we trekked for two hours through a streambed in the Aorangi Valley, following the river as it made its way through the valley. The walking track guide didn’t give much instruction other than “follow the stream,” and since New Zealand is currently in the midst of a super long drought, that was easier said than done. Several times we lost our way and had to double-back on the path to make sure we didn’t get lost in the middle of the mountains. Eventually, we noticed that a family of four was having the same trouble as us, so we all six teamed up and finally found the famous formations.
The Pinnacles are amazing rock pillars rising hundreds of feet high. They were formed thousands of years ago as sea levels rose and fell and the landmass eroded into the badlands of the Aorangi Valley. Below you can see some of these Pinnacles, and I hope these pictures do justice to their size. Standing beneath them was like standing in the shadow of a giant, making me feel miniscule.
We stopped at a tasty Indian restaurant for dinner that night in Wellington, and once back at the hotel, we celebrated Christmas once more with MORE Christmas crackers. More of Wellington the city in the next post!
