Friday, August 06, 2004
Cathy:Warrior Princess!
Non-Xena fans, apologies now as today was my Xena day in NZ. First we went to Mission Bay, the suburb where Lucy Lawless is supposed to live. A pal told me what road she lives on, but we didn't spot any obvious candidates for her place. (No houses with leather, horses, swords or anything!)
The sun was out and despite a few heavy showers, it was a gorgeous day. Ambled along the golden sandy beach at Mission Bay, and we decided that Auckland DOES have some nice bits. No Lucy though....
After lunch we headed up to the west coast, and along Sturges Rd where the studios were where Xena was filmed. We found Xena Way and Hercules Cres - surely built since the filming location was established. We then headed for Bethells Beach, and Lake Wainamu (think I have the name right)
Forgot to mention, we picked up the car - a quite nice Citroen C3. Louise drove today so I could ooh and aah over the scenery. I take the wheel tomorrow. I was grateful she did drive, as the winding roads leading down to Bethells were pretty hair raising. Coming back in the dark was even worse!
Anyway, for me - and any of the Xena fans reading - it was such a thrill to be walking by the stream where Callisto killed Perdicas, and on the beach where Xena was crucified once or twice! I really felt like I was in a Xena episode standing in the spot where Gabrielle fell in the lake in "Fins, Femmes and Gems." The area is absolutely beautiful - I think even Louise enjoyed it.
We also popped along to Piha beach (where we blagged our way into a function at the Bowls club because we were desperate for the loo! No toilets at Bethells Beach!) Piha has been used for filming movies like Whale Rider and The Piano, and was another fabulous place. The sunshine really helped, but this is a very attractive part of the world. Photo to follow!
Tomorrow we head for Rotorua. Auckland was not an especially beautiful city, but I did enjoy today's Xena pilgrimages...
The sun was out and despite a few heavy showers, it was a gorgeous day. Ambled along the golden sandy beach at Mission Bay, and we decided that Auckland DOES have some nice bits. No Lucy though....
After lunch we headed up to the west coast, and along Sturges Rd where the studios were where Xena was filmed. We found Xena Way and Hercules Cres - surely built since the filming location was established. We then headed for Bethells Beach, and Lake Wainamu (think I have the name right)
Forgot to mention, we picked up the car - a quite nice Citroen C3. Louise drove today so I could ooh and aah over the scenery. I take the wheel tomorrow. I was grateful she did drive, as the winding roads leading down to Bethells were pretty hair raising. Coming back in the dark was even worse!
Anyway, for me - and any of the Xena fans reading - it was such a thrill to be walking by the stream where Callisto killed Perdicas, and on the beach where Xena was crucified once or twice! I really felt like I was in a Xena episode standing in the spot where Gabrielle fell in the lake in "Fins, Femmes and Gems." The area is absolutely beautiful - I think even Louise enjoyed it.
We also popped along to Piha beach (where we blagged our way into a function at the Bowls club because we were desperate for the loo! No toilets at Bethells Beach!) Piha has been used for filming movies like Whale Rider and The Piano, and was another fabulous place. The sunshine really helped, but this is a very attractive part of the world. Photo to follow!
Tomorrow we head for Rotorua. Auckland was not an especially beautiful city, but I did enjoy today's Xena pilgrimages...
