Feathers, Fur and Finns

Well we’re only halfway through the trip, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that having front row seats to see Neil Finn perform at The Opera House with a band (featuring his wife and son) and string section (from the NZSO) is going to be tough to beat as the highlight.

As Holly mentioned, we just happened to see the poster for the gig, and for some reason some of the only tickets left were in the front row. Score for us! I always have the intention to go to gigs when we’re travelling (there were so many Scandi-indie bands I wanted to see on our last trip), but until now it’s never worked out. Liam Finn opened the evening; I think the last time I saw him play was at The Oxford Tavern in Wollongong (RIP) way too long ago, and I recall the gig ending with him standing on a table shredding over his loops. Tonight was a bit tamer than that, but I guess that’s opera houses for you.

Neil started solo, including some numbers on grand piano, and then the band and strings joined. It was a real mix of a set, but there were enough classics in there to keep everyone happy, including a sing-along-inducing rendition of I Got You to close out the night. The only thing that would have made it a more quintessential New Zealand experience is if Neil has performed Song of the Lonely Mountain from The Hobbit, but given Holly’s feelings towards that particular movie, perhaps best that he didn’t.

Speaking of Hobbits, we saw some more of Weta’s work today. The day began at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, which as well as the standard museum exhibits of taxidermied local birds and animals, various skeletons (including Phar Lap’s) and a preserved 4m long Colossal Squid (ok that’s not that standard), is currently hosting a Gallipoli exhibition created in part by Weta. It tells the story of the NZ Gallipoli campaign and features giant sculptures of soldiers and a nurse, telling their individual stories. While I admit I glossed over most of the facts and figures (sorry Mol), it was hard not to feel the impact of the perfectly rendered snapshots of these people’s lives.

After a bit more browsing at Te Papa (though I think we’re reaching museum/art gallery saturation point at this stage), the afternoon was spent wandering the laneways of Wellington. We’re staying just off Cuba Street, which seems to be the cool part of town. We did have crepes from a mini-shopfront (cooked by an actual French woman, so you know they’re legit), and then I did a peanut butter tasting through the window of a ‘nut buttery’, so yeah, I guess it’s pretty alright around here.

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