Off we go again, this time heading east to drive back over the Southern Alps. We followed the Otira River, past lots of sheep and cattle farms - including one of our favorites, the Oreo cow. This part of the trip is like driving through a picture postcard.
We made the crossing through Arthur's Pass, a cold and windy spot that has seen many a rockslide over the years. This picture was taken from Devil's Corner, looking back over the pass, the river and the road we just travelled.
Once through the pass, we entered Arthur's Pass National Park and stopped for a short walk along the track to the Devil's Punchbowl Falls. Not a bad waterfall, but sunny blue skies sure are nicer than cold gray days for tramping through the woods.
From the waterfall, we walked on into the village of Arthur's Pass to one of the local cafes to warm up a bit. Along the way, we checked out The Sanctuary, which offers a bed for $15 a night - showers are extra.
We also talked to the postmistress at the very impressive post office. We walked further through the town, stopping at the chapel, which provides a view of Avalanche Falls through the huge picture window in back of the altar - a really nice touch.
We stopped at the visitor center and museum and learned a little more about the much-hated possum that is doing much harm to native wildlife and how the conservation department is working to eradicate these furry beasts.
Back on the road again, we passed mile after mile of farms. New Zealand today has 45 Million sheep, down from a peak of 80 Million several years ago. There also are 10 Million cattle and about 2 Million farm-raised deer.
In late morning, we stopped at the Flock Hill Sheep Station, run by a clever fellow named Richard Hill who came out to show us around. This farm encompasses 36,000 acres, with a fair amount of the land in steep and rocky hills. He has only ONE fenced border - all the other boundaries are marked by rivers. The farm has 20,000 stock, mostly sheep, but also some cattle and deer. The sheep are merino (fine wool for high fashion clothes in Italy) and half-breeds (slightly coarser wool sold exclusively to Smart Wool in Steamboat Springs, Colorado).
Richard and his staff work the farm with 12 dogs: Border Collies (which work quietly and bring the sheep to the master) and New Zealand Huntaways (which bark constantly and chase the sheep away from the master - e.g., toward the barn). He works with a pair of dogs, one of each persuasion.
For our education and entertainment, Richard and his dogs (Mel and Millie) "mustered" a "mob" of stragglers (assorted sheep) that were mixed in with some cows in a paddock at some distance from the shed and corral. And what a show it was. The Border collie was first up - she sorted the sheep from the cows, got them bunched together, and brought them right to Richard's feet. At that point, the huntaway took over and chased the whole bunch up to the corral. The Border collie kept any of the sheep from scattering and in no time they had them in the corral.
Richard told us about the different kinds of sheep and showed just how white the wool is beneath the dirty outer layer. Black sheep are undesirable because their wool can't be dyed.
Margaret held one of the lambs and gave serious consideration to bringing a few home.
We spent some time in the wool house - the big barn where the sheep are sheared and the wool is "classed" and sorted. Here on this table are two piles of wool - each pile represents the wool from only one sheep - one pile is merino and the other is from one of the half-breeds.
Richard seemed to enjoy telling us about his farm and his animals, and we were all so intrigued by these animals and their master that we were surprised that we had overstayed our time. We said our goodbyes and went over to the Flock Hill Lodge for lunch, topped off by pavlova for dessert. Pavlova is New Zealand's national dish - a concoction of meringue, cream and fruit - really good stuff.
The farm was fun, but before long we were back on the road to Christchurch, which lies in the Canterbury plains - rich and flat farmland in a 30 x 140 mile strip east of the Southern Alps. We had a little look around this afternoon - will see more in next couple of days.
