Jan 31 - The Agrodome

Our next stop was nearby at the Agrodome. It's a farm-based attraction that helps to educate visitors on farming, especially sheep farming, in New Zealand. GPT knows how to time things. We arrived just in time to catch the sheep herding demonstration. Despite the valiant efforts by a very quick and smart dog, the four sheep managed to evade the pen, despite all four looking as dumb as stumps. It's fascinating to hear the handler use different whistle sounds to direct the dog - the whistles all sounded the same to these human ears.

Next, was the star attraction - a sheep show. There were 19 sheep on display - each a different breed. The host explained the characteristics of each. King of the castle is the Merino sheep with its long, silky wool that is used to make high-end, incredibly soft clothing. The host sheared a Romney sheep right in front of our eyes - Linda had told us where the prime seats were located. Kids got to bottle-feed baby lambs and a trainee dog got to herd a couple of geese. Three lucky visitors got to try their hand at milking a cow. Then three other dogs came out and demonstrated how they actually climb over the backs of sheep in large herds to control them. I'd never seen that done before. The whole show was really entertaining and very educational. There was a nursery nearby with baby rabbits, lambs and pigs. There was a lot of cooing in that room.Read more