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Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War is a new exhbition at Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum. Created by Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshop, the exhibition follows four New Zealand soldiers’ journey through letters and journals. The figures stand at 2.4 times larger than life, but actually feel much, much larger due to their dramatic context and setting. The presence of these figures is staggering to witness, impossible to ignore. Details continually emerge the longer you look, from the stitching on clothes to individual hairs on arms and legs. What we are left with is the human condition floating in the surrealness of war.
We were told by our S. African zoo keeper that Meerkat is an Afrikaaner name that translates as “more cat.” Once again reminding me that there are a good number of names that sound cool as long as you don’t translate them into English.
One the most interesting aspects of Peter Jackson’s special effects studio (Weta Cave) is that it is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood, thus providing some dramatic contrast on a somewhat sleepy street.
Definitely the coolest ropes course I’ve ever seen. Adrenalin Forest has six levels, each level increasing in length and height from the last. Although completely safe, the course is exhausting both mentally and physically. You are encouraged to go as far as you can in three hours or until you “cry” (whichever comes first).
© 2026 Lowell Robinson