THE AMAZING AGRODOME TOUR NEW ZEALAND JOURNEY

From the luge rides down Mt. Ngongotata, we went straight for the Agrodome visit. As soon as we got there, we were given instructions on how to proceed with the tour there and how much time we would be spending there.

The Agrodome is a 350-acre sheep farm located 10 km from Rotorua.

It all started in 1970 when world champion sheep shearer Godfrey Bowen produced a show at World Expo in Osaka, Japan. His ‘Sheep Show’ was such a hit that Godfrey together with his friend and fellow farmer George Harford, created a permanent home for it. The Agrodome opened its doors to tourists and Kiwis alike in 1971.

In 1980, tragedy struck, and a devastating fire completely destroyed the first Agrodome building. But undeterred, while the building was still smouldering, Ivan Bowen said, "The show must go on” and performed his famous sheep show on a hillside to an audience of over 100!

In 1983, Warren Harford and Paul Bowen, sons of the original founders of Agrodome, joined the Agrodome team and started the second generation of this family business.

The Agrodome has won the coveted New Zealand Tourism Award for New Zealand's Best Visitor Attraction a number of times; it is also a real working sheep and cattle farm with 1200 sheep and 120 beef cattle.

As it was getting time for the sheep and dog show, we all gathered near the fence to watch a live dog trial where proficient farm dogs, the Border Collies, skillfully herded the poor sheep through several obstacles. In between, there was a duck with its ducklings coming in the way of the exasperated dogs; it was very amusing.

We then headed inside for an hour-long sheep show; it had a huge indoor stage with lots of seating and a pretty nice view for most ages and sizes. We sat quite close to the front, as we wanted to ensure that we got to see the show well.

Dressed in an iconic black singlet, shearer's jeans and shearer's moccasins, a cheerful and hefty host, a shearer, was very lively and informative, helped by the live translation service offered through headphones in Korean, German, Japanese and Mandarin.

The host first introduced us to the various varieties of sheep from around the world, at the same time explaining the speciality of each one. During the one-hour show, we were shown the range of New Zealand sheep breeds.  

Rare breeds at the Agrodome included:

Arapawa Sheep, A Rare Breed of New Zealand Origin, Dorset Horn Sheep, A Rare Breed of British Origin, Damara Sheep, A Rare Breed of African Origin, Karakul Sheep, A Rare Breed of Middle Eastern Origin,Dorper Sheep, A Rare Breed of South African Origin, Drysdale Sheep, A Minority Breed of New Zealand Origin,Gotland Pelt Sheep,  A Rare Breed of Baltic Origin,Jacob Sheep, Origin unknown,Pitt Island Sheep, A Rare Breed of New Zealand Origin. 

 It was amazing to see how the sheep when called, fell in line and climbed to their designated spot in the stage and started munching on their goodies placed in bowls before them ,we were amused to see some sheep snatching the bowl of other sheep too ,I thought pigs are not only the ones greedy !

The host explained that some of the sheep had wool that had a very high rate in the market.

We were entranced as he demonstrated the way to shear a sheep, which tried its best to wriggle away from his clutches. At the end of the shearing, I realised how much wool came off a sheep. The poor sheep tottered off, deprived of its wool covering, looking utterly miserable. “Never mind, you will grow it back again” was the comforting thought I sent across to it. At every stage, our host, who was helped by two pretty petite girls, was involving the audience and calling us onto the stage.

After the shearing, few men and women from the tourists were called on to the stage to milk an enormous, big-eyed cow who looked vexed and impatient but luckily didn’t kick anyone.

Then the children were called and given milk bottles to feed small lambs; it was indeed funny to see the lambs following the kids, but the Marys were too timid to withstand the onslaught of the hungry lambs and were ready to break into tears

During all this, the dogs were seen sitting at their allotted places very disdainfully and jumped over the sheep when called for; the show was genuinely entertaining.

After the show, we could get onto the stage and pet the sheep, which were plump and heavy and could easily eat out our hands if they wanted to, but they sat watching us very placidly.

At the end, cackling merrily, the duck arrived with its flock.

On the way out, we could see the nursery where we could see the young animals, the lambs and the alpacas, being looked after so well.

We visited the Woollen Mill and could see an authentic Platt wool-carding machine from 1906 and learnt how wool gets from a sheep’s back to our own, saw a demonstration of wool processing and spinning using wool shorn from sheep during the farm Show.

 The Woollen Mill had a range of homespun, hand knitted/woven garments along with handcrafted footwear, rugs, knitting and weaving kits. Many of the products in the Woollen Mill were made of pure New Zealand wool, be it sheep, alpaca, opossum, or angora.

A Dog and Whistle Gift Shop was selling Sheepskin products, Lanolin creams, Woollen clothing, Leather goods and New Zealand souvenirs

There were other activities at the site like farm tours and carthorse trips, but we only had time for the shows.

Finally, we left the place feeling definitely very wooly ! During our tour around New Zealand, I had wanted to stop many times to take pictures of sheep and get close, but time or driving conditions didn’t permit. The visit to the Agrodome satisfied this desire to get close to the sheep.