Sheep Farm -- Possibly the High Point, Says Jon

Alissa got dropped off at our swanky apartment at 8 AM (David had to go back to Australia, much to his dismay since NZ is now at the top of his list) and she and Jon got busy on planning the next few days.

We meandered out of town, stopping wherever we wanted to take pictures or admire a bit of local scenery. We went through a valley that was packed with orchards and fruit stands, and we finally picked one random place.  Fresh apricots, plums, nectarines, cherries from right there. Jon almost bought the biggest container but we reminded him we still had about a half bushel of fruit in the car from yesterday's shopping.

We were heading south. This is probably the furthest south we will ever be in our lives -- the closest we will ever be to Antarctica.  The sheep are endless, the terrain is ever changing, and every town has friendly amenities. You have got to love a country that has well-marked, clean, fancy public toilets everywhere you go, for free. That is so different from everywhere else.  We stopped to have lunch in Gore, a town that prides itself on its country music ("World Capital of Country Music" said one sign) and on its brown trout.   There are also picnic tables on the side of every road, with a sign that alerts you to their location. This place has won my heart for its bathrooms and picnic tables, never mind the consistently friendly reception and the unbelievable mountains and lakes and hills and sky and plains. Also there are good supermarkets in every town. They want tourists and campers to be comfortable and happy.

Without really understanding what Bluff was, we went there. It was a port town at the end of the road, at some point on the end of the island (but not officially the southernmost point). We drove to the top of the hill that overlooks the beach and the port and the kind of scruffy landscape.  Not much to report but we were there. There were signs that identified islands and points of interest but there wasn't enough information to make it interesting, really.

Antarctica just over the horizon.

A real sheepdog, the best.

After a good while on a dusty gravel road we arrived at the sheep farm that would be our sleeping destination. According to our very friendly host, this is a kind of a small farm (370 acres with 1000 sheep and some cows and they train sheep dogs). It has a magnificent view, but just as we got there the sky got all cloudy and we couldn't see all the way to the ocean and the fiordlands but we could still see for many, many miles. Our sleeping quarters were at the top of a big hill, through many pastures and paddocks. I got to ride up in the truck with our bags and Alissa and Jon made the trek.  We spent the night in a "hut' with no electricity and no running water. But it did have a shower if you mixed boiling water with rain water and climbed up to pour it into a suspended kettle on the roof. We skipped the shower.  We had a picnic dinner and we read our books until we were sleepy but we still went to bed before dark. It was still light at 10 PM.  The hut had a nice wood stove, a table with stools, cupboards, dishes, bunks. We were cozy and comfortable even though it got chilly in the night.

View from the cabin.

View of the farm homestead, shearing and containment barn big roof on the left and house on the right.
Sheep everywhere.

Cabin with black rainwater catchment tank on left and shower under it.

The farmers had purchased the farm about 14 years ago from a family that had owned the property for 5 generations.  Justine, the host who greeted us, grew up in England and was working as a "rousie" (support crew for shearers who had come from NZ during their winter) when she met her husband who was a traveling fencing repair guy.  That was all the story I got, but what a huge leap to go all the way to the other side of the world to live and become a sheep farmer.  When she goes home to visit her family, it is a 35 hour trip.



Jon and Alissa could have slept for longer, but I was ready to get up at about 6:30.  We ate through some more of our mountain of fruit and we made some uncooked currant/raspberry jam with the local honey we had bought from a self-service bus stop sort of structure.

All day it felt like we were driving through a national part, but the park was really on the other side of the lakes, and we can't see the fjords from here.  There are so few people in this vast terrain.  Stopped in Te Anau (rhymes with Keanu), a town with the sole purpose of housing tourists, feeding tourists, and setting them up to go tramping. Alissa and Jon went on a hot and sunny walk around the lake and to a bird sanctuary while I sat in the shade and read my book. They came back a little sunburned.

Many completely different kinds of vegetation on a pretty short hike.

Our next abode is at a dairy and sheep farm. In the refrigerator there were two liters of raw, creamy milk waiting for us. Alissa and I drank most of one -- delicious.  We have an entire half a house to ourselves, with full kitchen and livingroom and two bedrooms. There is a jug of "sheep nuts" that we are supposed to go out and give the pet sheep because they are expecting it.  Had a lovely hot dinner of lamb sausage, scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and Alissa is making a pot of fruit compote to go with the ice cream.

Everyone tells us the weather was horrible until a few weeks ago and now it is just clear and sunny and delightful. The farmers are wishing it would rain a little again because that's how farmers are.