Hunting hobbits, dwarves, elves and men, along the Middle of Middle-Earth Costume Trail.
December 11th 2014 – March 22nd 2015 Wellington, New Zealand
A cooperation of Wellington tourism and Weta Workshop created this wonderful trail through the capital of New Zealand to celebrate the release of “The Hobbit: Battle of the five armies” in December 2014.
Grabbing a map at the visitors center i-Site at Civic Square Wellington, you could already gaze upon Tauriels costume which was located there. The map would then guide you along the capital of New Zealand and following the numbers on it, you were able to see the 13 dwarven costumes, accompanied by Bilbos Lake Town outfit, Gandalf, Radagast, Tauriel, Legolas, Bard as well as 2 Elven Soldiers from the woodland realms.
It also gave you small descriptions of all the characters and sights if there were any along the trail.
Given the fact, that the trail would lead you all the way out the airport to see Kili and Fili along with massive sculptures of the eagles and Gollum hanging from the terminals ceiling, as well as into the suburb of Miramar where the Roxy cinema and the Weta Cave are located, you would have to spend a whole day on it, to get the most out of this middle earth adventure.
As a fan of J.R.R Tolkiens work, the creations of Peter Jackson and magic of Weta it was a great day to spend in the windy city Wellington. I took some extra time, having lunch at the Roxy cinema whilst looking at Nori, Dori and Ori’s costumes and sitting down for a coffee at the Wharewaka studying Legolas outfit up close.
Taking a selfie in front of Azog at the Te Papa museum, where the elven soldiers were displayed, getting a high class souvenir at the Weta Cave and including the special “Workshop Tour”, I wrapped up my adventure with a screening of the third Hobbit movie at the Embassy theatre. The one and only movie theater where it premiered (and “The lord of the rings: Return of the King”) and in which foyer Bifur, Bofur and Bombur were placed.
Watch out for two other articles about it, in which I will give you a more detailed look of the costumes and some of the locations where they were placed.
MoME-Costume-Trail-Map-Brochure-WEB-Orientation
Also, follow this LINK to find a great gallery of the fabulous costumes created by the “3 foot 7 costume department”, the makers of the “Hobbit” costumes.
Anita Gander has studied arts in St. Gallen Switzerland and has always had a passion for costumes, film and theater. By the call of the Globetrotter within herself, she explores original scenarios and finds inspiration for her own creations. “I’m not a cosplayer I’m more of a costume geek.“
