Weta Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Corner of Camperdown Rd and Weka St, Miramar, Wellington
Open:	All year Tue-Fri 11-18, Sat 10-16. [2008]
Fee:	free. [2008]
Classification:	Cave Replica
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Weta Cave, Miramar, Wellington, Tel: +64-4-380-9361. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

The Weta Cave is actually no cave at all, it is a small museum and shop dedicated to the famous special effects (FX) company at Wellington. Weta made the special effects for movies like The Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and King Kong. Similar to Disney they offer a sort of making-of movie on the internals of the FX company, an exhibition and a shop selling memorabilia and merchandise for the movies and the movie characters.

The Weta Cave is located in a middle class house in the Wellington suburb Miramar. From outside it looks almost respectable, only the bats on the gate give a first glimps of the interior. Inside the shop really looks like a cave, as walls are covered by movie decoration. The visit is free, shopping not.

Weta is the local name for cricket, a term from the polynesian language of the indigneous inhabitants. There are also 60 different kinds of cave weta in New Zealand, which are crickets living in natural caves and other dark places. Their characteristics are extremely long antennae and legs.