We departed Te Anau this morning enroute to Queenstown, but stopping for a good long while at Real Country, an agro tourism sheep farm.
We were greeted by a farmer named Julia and a red deer named Bobby. Bobby, Julia explained, had the identity of a dog. Today was his first day being weaned and he was eager to see if any of us had a bottle for him. I am not sure I have ever petted a deer before, but Bobby made it easy.
First up was a lamb shearing demonstration. Over all, the lamb was pretty passive through the process, even though the shears and the crowd of people were new to him. We had the chance to hold pieces of the lambswool. Unfortunately, wool, even lambs wool, is not worth very much right now. Rough wool is best for blankets and wool carpets, but for clothing people prefer the softer merino. The sheep have to be shorn regardless, since the long wool is a health hazard for them. I’ve grown very passionate about merino t-shirts and hope they continue to become readily available as an alternative to synthetic fabrics!
Next on the demonstration agenda was a herding dog demonstration. I could cheerfully have a daily dose of watching a herding dog work. Their keenness to be given a command is fascinating. Their focus is breathtaking. Julia demonstrated with two dogs. One was a border collie, Riv or Rev– not sure which vowel was being spoken due to my American accent ears– and herded silently. R*v ran to the mini flock of four, found the dominant sheep, and with very little effort had them in a group running to the farmer and sticking to her corner of the paddock while we watched.
The second dog, Nos, was a barking herder. He was also full of attention to get busy. He would “hunt away” the sheep by barking, and the sheep flocked and again moved to the corner of the paddock by the farmer while we watched.
It was clear that both dogs would have kept this work up all day. These dogs are well trained, and Julia owns eight of them. As much as they love the work, it causes a lot of wear and tear on the body and a dog might only work for eight years. Since they are expensive mouths to feed, they usually retire to a new home. That’s tough to contemplate. As a dog owner, I’d be heartbroken if my dog had to be rehomed, but I guess this is the life of a farmer.
Next up was animal petting. Some alpacas, a friendly ewe, and a Shetland pony joined us, along with the puppyish Bobby. The animals were interested in anyone with the bucket of food. I was surrounded by the pony, the ewe and a couple of alpacas all at once. Plunging cold fingers into the sheep’s wool was as warming as pulling on gloves that had been sitting on a radiator. The pony was very friendly and liked being scratched. Alpacas are the hardest to befriend. They like the food but are so skittish about being touched.
While some of us fed the animals, we were also fed a farm lunch of bacon and egg pie, and scones with coffee and tea. The trays of food vanished just like the bucket of feed had.
Finally, we got to try to crack the whip. This was a brand new experience and pretty hard. Whips are used for cattle and it’s the sound, not physical contact, that gets them moving. It’s too dangerous to herd cattle with a dog, so humans on horseback cracking whips is a better solution. I got the sound a few times, also bonked the back of my head. Perhaps I’m not quite ready for a horse.
After this fine morning at Real Country Farm, we drove off to Queenstown, via a short stop in Arrowtown. Mark and I had spent some time in Arrowtown a few weeks ago, walking around the Chinese mining village. This time we walked the shops on the main street. It’s a cute town and a nice place to stroll.
Queenstown is hugely popular and full of international tourists this time of year. Winter has not settled in, but there are four good seasons of outdoor activities in Queenstown. We took a stroll through the gardens with our group, as we had the last time we were here. This time though, our stroll ended at the gondola which we rode up to take in the views at the top. We also had dinner at the top– a huge buffet– and when we returned by gondola to town, it was dark and the street lights were twinkling. Before walking back to our hotel, we turned our attention up to the sky to see three of the four stars of the Southern Cross.
