The past few days I've gotten the opportunity to visit a few homesteads of friends in the area. Similar to most cities in New Zealand, you can get to the countryside by usually only a minute or two drive from anywhere in the city. A few days ago, my Aunt and I made our way out of the city into the Wanganui river valley, where we visited a local farmer named Donald and his many sheep dogs he keeps and trains. This visit introduced me to the wonderous world of sheep dogs, whom are so important in farming countries like New Zealand. I was told there are actually reality tv shows about sheep dogs. When I think of reality tv I think of bad drama and spring break partying, definitely not sheep dogs. When it turned out that Donald found I was American and didn't know much about the magic these dogs can do, he proceeded for the next two hours to show me the talent these doggies have. He owned some of the best trained dogs in the country, and has one "soon to be champion" dog he feels will go to nationals and win (the one on the right).
The dog competitions enter a dog in the ring with sheep and the dog proceeds to herd them around, over and through obstacles. The dogs do this by listening to their owners commands-a whistle ending with a high note means 'turn left' or a whistle ending with a low means 'turn right.'
The trainer can get the dogs to do all these crazy things just by the way he whistles. These dogs seem also to be born for the job. Donald pulled out one 4 month old pup, where the dog then hightailed around the ring herding the sheep all over the place. Their natural born ability combined with good training makes these dogs natural athletes. Donald proved this to me when he was explaining how he could instruct a dog to charge up the near bye mountain to the top if he wanted, turning left or right or stopping whenever Donald tells it to. I thought this was hypathetical, but then to my amazement he called a dog over, told it to "look" at the mountain, made a few whistles, and then OFF it went across the road, over fences, around trees, and it literally climbed 200 feet in a matter of minutes. The best part is, these dogs live for the chase and sense of adventure. One minute I was cuddling with the dogs and the next they were in the ring light on their feet stalking,barking, chasing, basically DOMINATING an entire herd of sheep. Sheep dogs have really important jobs in places like New Zealand and they are something really amazing to watch. The South Island has a sheep dog statue dedicated to all the hard work these dogs do for the farmers and the local economy.
After I was done cuddling with sheep dogs, I moved onto cows when we visited a couple who make their own cheese from their 3 pet cows. Biddy and Colin were a couple who support themselves by selling their cheese and also charging admission to see Colin's jumbo model train set.
People bring their kids and watch the trains, while eating cheese from the two cows Sally and Molly. I met Sally and was so moved by how beautiful she was. A cow, I know! Sally was a 19 year old cow with arthritis who could barely walk. It is her last summer before Colin and Biddy euthanize her before winter takes over. My heart pinged for her like a family dog in its last few months before being put to sleep. I drank her milk and ate her cheese that day and it was such a beautiful example of the partnership we have with animals.
I don't think I've ever known where my cheese and milk came from, and it was really amazing to me to see the source of it all right in front of me-all from beautiful Sally! I hugged her and thanked her for her cheese, meanwhile I was being called a "softie" by Biddy and Colin. I can't help it that we are cut off from things like this in America! Also pictured is Sally's calf, "Holly."
After canoodling Sally, I tip toed around Biddy and Colin's old farmhouse taking pictures-gumboots and all (with permission of course).
Colin was an avid camera collector with hundreds of old cameras lined up in cases, and Biddy was an artist before she became an award-winning cheese maker.
To keep it short, while I am not drooling over how beautiful New Zealand is, I am thoroughly enjoying meeting the most interesting people and learning more and more about Kiwi culture.
Tomorrow I am off for my 8 day canoe trip down the Wanganui River!!! We are camping along the riverbank each night and cooking our food. It should definitely be a very cool experience. Countless people say it's one of the best things they've ever done and that few people come back with their life unchanged. A few women who have sailed the Nile even said that the beauty of the Wanganui river comes out on top. So with all these high expectations, I am very eager to get started! More updates to come on all that in a week. Here's a preview of what I'm about to embark on..
No comments:
Post a Comment