We visited Wētā Workshop in both Wellington and Auckland, each featuring incredible Wētā Caves and behind-the-scenes tours. As an avid crafter and devoted Lord of the Rings fan, I was absolutely in my element – surrounded by the artistry and imagination that brought Middle-earth to life.

📸 Summary

Wētā Wellington

The Wētā Workshop and Cave in Wellington were astounding! This is the original workshop where they made all the LOTR props as well as other movies. We unfortunately weren’t able to take pictures on the tour, but there were even more phenomenal props than the Wētā Cave, including the original shards of Narsil, the full Sauron armor, and an extensive collection of LOTR swords, armor, and helmets. We enjoyed the aluminum foil demo by Doc Tinfoil at the end of the tour (he was way more skilled at it than us during our Auckland Intro to World Building workshop).

Wētā Cave

We loved posing with the trolls, Gollum and Lurtz at the Wētā Cave in Wellington!

The LOTR props in the Wētā Cave were amazing!

Wētā Auckland

We did the Intro to World Building workshop in Auckland as an add-on to the Wētā Workshop Unleashed experience. This Unleashed workshop was created to allow fans an inside look into a custom-made experience that features 3 fictional films (horror, fantasy, sci-fi) and props to allow total access (including pictures). Whereas the Wellington location is more limited because it’s an actual workshop studio, making proprietary props. We enjoyed both experiences but would recommend the Wellington location if you have to pick one.

Wētā Workshop Unleashed

The Wētā Workshop Unleashed was very hands-on and definitely designed for kids. We enjoyed the latter half the most, especially the chainmail creation zone and the fantasy bigature.

Wētā Cave – Auckland

The Wētā Cave in Auckland was less extensive than Wellington with the majority being the gift shop. It did include Smaug and the Azog (Scott’s favorite ;), in addition to the 3 trolls, Gollum and Lurtz. There was also Gondor and Uruk-Hai scout armor.

Intro to World Building

The Intro to World Building was a pretty basic workshop making landscapes with aluminum foil, hot glue, and paint. We had fun making hobbit holes. This is an inexpensive way to make miniatures or even bigatures, which I will surely apply to future projects.