THE AGRODOME TOUR NEW ZEALAND JOURNEY

BLOG POST 18

From the Luge rides down the Mt. Ngongotata, we went straight for the Agrodome visit. As soon as we got there, we were issued instructions how to proceed with the tour there  and how much time would we 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 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 the 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 the 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 a number of obstacles, coming blissfully 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 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 iconic black singlet, shearer's jeans and shearer's moccasins,our  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 variety of sheep from around the world at the same time explaining the specialty 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 which had a very high rate in the market

We were entranced as he demonstrated the way to shear a sheep who tried its best to wriggle away from his clutches ,at the end of the shearing I didn't realise 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 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..

There was a Dog and Whistle Gift Shop 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 the time or driving conditions didn’t permit. The visit to the Agrodome satisfied this desire to get close to the sheep