Sheep in Southland & The World's Fastest Indian

Close encounter of the sheep kind

Gregory watches Trevor as he bangs on the chute (with the piece of rubber tube he is holding) so he can keep the sheep moving up the chute and into the truck. They are being moved to be shorn after Easter weekend.

Morgan and two sheep dogs keep the sheep moving from behind. He moves a batch into the corral and closes it off and as soon as those are all in the truck he moves more into the corral.

Morgan closing off the gate.

"Hey, I'm getting squished here."

Gregory enjoying the sheep "roundup" (Morgan in the background)

Trevor gave us a 4x4 ride up to the top of his property overlooking Haldane Estuary (see below).

Dorrie and Trevor

The World's Fastest Indian ~ Munro Special (Invercargill, NZ)

Movie jacket for the movie The World's Fastest Indian (Rent it today!) with Anthony Hopkins playing Burt Munro.

We had a wonderful chance happening today. I asked Mike to pull over so I could take a picture of some men loaded a semi with sheep. They were just off the main road so I put on my jacket, crossed the road and tiptoed through the mud tracks to the fence line. I took a short video and a picture and just stood watching when a man started to approach. At first I thought he was going to say, “What do you want? You can’t be video taping this…” But of course a friendly Kiwi wouldn’t say that and he invited me to come through the gate and have a closer look. I waved Mike and Gregory over and we had the best time watching them whistle and whoop and holler as they prodded the sheep and banged on the metal chute to get the stubborn Pirendale (?sp) sheep up the ramp and into the back of the truck. The dogs barked and hopped over the railings of the chute and ran right along the backs of the sheep to keep them moving. I’m not kidding! It was a sight to see.

Trevor (owner of the sheep station) and his helper Morgan were up to their knees in mud and the owner of the semi (who Trevor hired to move the sheep at $.80/sheep x 1,000 sheep = $800) was up on the rear of the truck manhandling the stubborn ones as they tried to turn around back down the chute. If a lamb made it into the chute he was grabbed by the scruff of his wooly neck and thrown over the rail with the other young ones. The lambs would be off to the freezer works while the sheep would be going to Trevor’s other paddock to be shorn after Easter. (We were assured things pretty much close down around here on Easter.) I think Trevor said he gets about $7.00/sheep for the wool but $3.50 of that goes to pay the guys who are doing the shearing. So, what he makes from the wool is nothing compared to what he gets from selling the lambs for their meat. I asked Trevor if with the change in weather would the sheep be able to handle the cold once they are shorn and he said that the day after shearing is the critical day but after that their skin actually gets thicker and that protects them from the cold.

Another interesting point is that he said it doesn’t really matter if different kinds of wool are all bundled together when it is sold. I said, “Oh, so if you have a sweater that says it is made with “wool” it could be any kind of wool unless of course it says 100% merino wool?” He said that was right but he said that the finest merino wool comes when the sheep are actually given very little to eat. So, think about that next time you go to buy a sweater!

The semi was finally off with a full load but would be back for the rest in an hour and a half so Trevor had some free time. He invited us on a drive up the mountain to the top of his property and of course we said yes! We all piled into his Holden pickup truck for a slippery and bumpy ride. Some of his sheep had already been shorn and their bright white bodies fled from the fence lines as we passed. We had spectacular views of the Haldane Estuary and Haldane Bay. Recently purchased, Trevor’s property is a work in progress with much clearing of brush in process and plans to plant seed. He said the brush remains in piles and acts as shelter for the sheep from the southerlies that can come in. He won’t burn because his property borders DOC (Department of Conservation) land and there is too much risk that the DOC land could catch fire. He recalled that another farmer caught DOC land on fire and was taken to court and fined $600,000. These farmers carry insurance but that is still a hefty fine! Trevor said he imagined that was what it cost DOC to do the cleanup.

Trevor recently sold his Central Otago farm (which was relatively flat) to a dairy farmer from the North Island and bought this property in Southland. Times change and you have to change with the times he said. He also said he was too young to retire and had to have something to get up for in the morning. He was raised on a sheep farm and said that he can remember having to pluck the wool from the sheep (versus shearing). Years ago his grandfather came over from England to set up a sheep station in New Zealand and he carries on the tradition. We’d heard that many dairy farmers from the North Island are coming to the South Island for the inexpensive land. We noticed that there are considerably more cattle here in New Zealand than there were 15 years ago. We even heard they are trying to put in a feedlot in Mackenzie Country. Somehow that just doesn’t go with the eco-friendly clean and green image that New Zealand generally exudes.

After saying goodbye to Trevor we put in some miles in the rain enjoying the lush green countryside (you can’t have this beautiful green countryside without the rain!) and the mist that hugged the mountains and paddocks. We made our way to Invercargill and set ourselves up in a caravan at the Lorneville Holiday Park, a farmlet 10 minutes from the city centre with a peaceful surrounding. After hanging the tent up in the caravan, on Mike’s makeshift clothesline, we made our way to town to see the world’s fastest Indian.

Burt Monroe, a Kiwi who was born just 30kms north of Invercargill, set the World Record Class S-A 1000cc, on his Indian motorcycle at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with an average speed of 183.586mph, (one way 190.07mph) and this speed record is still held today. If you haven’t seen the movie (The World’s Fastest Indian) with Anthony Hopkins you should rent it today! In 1967, after a partial stroke, Burt sold his record-breaking Indian to the brothers Norman and Neville Hayes who owned a hardware store in Invercargill. He wanted the bike to stay in the Southland. It is on display in the E. Hayes and Sons Ltd. hardware store today along with may other collector bikes. Not only was the collection of motorcycles something to see but the hardware store is something pretty special also! They have a tool wall that is 100m long (that’s 328 feet!) and the store is 4,000 sq. metres (43,056 sq. feet!) taking up a whole city block! We had a great time poking around. With stores closed tomorrow (Good Friday) we picked up some items for Easter Sunday (also Mike’s 47^th birthday) and plenty of groceries. Back at camp there were the usual chores of dinner, laundry and showers but it has been nice to be able to get these things done after dark on a rainy night and have a warm dry caravan to come back to.

Sheep Talk

As in most businesses, those who work with sheep have their own vocabulary. Today shearing is still done by hand using electric shears. Teams of people, called sheep gangs, work and travel together from farm to farm. Here are some of their slang terms:

Blades – hand shears

Ringer – the fastest shearer in the shearing shed

Gun – a fast shearer

Jingling Johnnies – shearers using hand shears

Gummy – an old toothless sheep

Wigs – short bits of wool from the top of the sheep’s head

Smoko – a tea break

Hockey Stick – lamb chop

Hash-me-gandy – sheep-station (farm) stew

(Taken from: New Zealand, Enchantment of the World by Donna Walsh Shepherd)

The Catlins Continued ~ Yellow-eyed Penguins/Petrified Forest

Petrified Forest ~ Curio Bay

Petrified Tree

First sighting of this Yellow-eyed Penguin. I was out on the rocks and he came out of the sea just near me! It was amazing!

I was able to zoom in with my little Canon to get this incredible shot!

Petrified Tree Stump

I love this shot of several petrified trees. You can only see these at low tide.

Here Mike stands before a massive petrified tree.

Count yourself lucky....

I did count myself lucky having seen a yellow-eyed penguin up close but as I held the camera ever so still to get my video clips and pictures, the sand flies attacked my wrists. Here is my reaction after only a couple of minutes...

This sea lion parked himself right beside our tent site!

This was our camping spot.

Showing Nick and Summer (from San Francisco, California) our video of the Yellow-eyed Penguin. We are huddled under the picnic shelter and watching dolphins play out in Porpoise Bay in front of us.

Cleaning up in the cylindrical concrete camp kitchen at Curio Bay.

Porpoise Bay

Chilly Morning!

We were happy to not have to set up a wet tent in the morning and to be able to sit at our bench in our snug cabin and have breakfast while looking out to sea. We set off from Pounawea under gray skies and drizzle but it didn’t dampen our spirits. As a matter of fact this day rates pretty high on my list, for it was filled with so many scenic wonders and incredible animal encounters! We were following a map of The Catlins that we’d received at camp and also the advice of our Dunedin friends but I became known as “The Taskmaster” because as navigator I told Mike where to stop and which hike I wanted to do next! At one point I said to Mike, “Hasn’t this just been the most enjoyable day?” His reply was, “Yes, but I’m almost enjoyed out.” That was a gut-buster for me and I couldn’t stop laughing for the longest while! We’d done quite a lot of hiking at this point and with only tennis shoes (joggers) our toes and feet were beginning to ache. Also, it was a lot of driving, stopping, hiking in, hiking out, and driving on again to do a repeat. The majesty of the many waterfalls, dense forest filled with a wide variety of trees and ferns and even a historic milling tractor made it just so breathtaking. What topped it all off was that we arrived at Curio Bay around 4:30 PM in hopes of viewing the petrified forest, which can only be seen at low tide, and wah-la, it was low tide! As we walked out across this ancient petrified forest, where fossilized trees are embedded on coastal bedrock, and we examined the many textures and colors of the trees, stumps and the tide pools that nestled amongst them. It is a bit overwhelming to think that these are the remnants of a 180 million year old Jurassic era forest.

In one moment I was looking to my right at Mike just a few feet away and Gregory beyond him in the distance and then I looked left and there was a Yellow-eyed penguin coming ashore just a short distance from me! I couldn’t speak. I just looked over at Mike and made some sort of grunt with erratic arm motioning and pointing to announce my discovery. As he got Gregory’s attention I began taking some video clips and many photos. He waddled and hopped along the rocks all the way across this petrified rock landscape and up to his burrow on the edge of the cliff for his evening rest. The next day at dawn he would be off again for his fill of fish. How amazing is that!! And Mike said he was almost “enjoyed out”! He too had to admit that it was one of those experiences that you will never forget. After saying goodnight to our yellow-eyed friend we continued to wander along the rocks and make our way closer to the sea where waves were crashing violently against the rocks. Gregory was mesmerized and kept calling us to come closer and closer. A couple of waves almost caught him off guard and he was almost drenched but he narrowly escaped. Actually, we all ended up with at least one soaked shoe. My feet have felt damp for two days now and I keep changing socks but my shoes never quite dry out.

We pitched our tent on a wet grassy spot bordered on three sides by flax hedge barriers and overlooking a turbulent sea. We parked the car across the front of our site to block the wind and I set out to cook dinner in the wee concrete cylindrical kitchen while Mike and Greg set up camp. Before long Gregory came running in to show me video he took of a sea lion that entered our camp! At one point they had him coming right for them but fortunately they got the car between them. They have pictures of the seal lion kicking back right by our tent site! Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I had met Mark and Tim, brothers who were brought up in Riverton, who were on a fishing holiday. They were filleting some green bone fish and when I offered them some of my red potatoes for their tea they gave me a fillet to try. It is a beautiful white fish and tasted delicious. Mark and Tim also told me of their father’s paua (abalone shell) jewelry making business in Riverton and told us to stop in for a tour. Mark is also in the business but works out of Dunedin while brother Tim just returned from two years in Scotland and was catching up on the family traditions he’d been missing out on such as the spear fishing. We sat in the near dark, at a damp picnic table, out in front of the office, eating our green bone and a pot of lentil soup, and even though the wind bit at our cheeks, and our toes were damp, we were content, for we had a warm meal before us and we’d shared a most memorable day.

It poured all night long and to say the tent was soggy is an understatement. Big Agnes held up well though and we were toasty dry, that is, until we unzipped and had to get out to take care of necessaries. Mike packed up sleeping bags and mattresses but we left the tent in hopes of a lull in the rain after breakfast. We boiled some water in the kitchen and then headed for the shelter of the picnic area where I’d met Nick and Summer the night before. They are from San Francisco and have just two weeks left of their yearlong journey. We joked that they would go into reverse culture shock when they returned but they assured me they had things to do to keep them busy when they got back. Summer was fighting a cold so we gave her the rest of our Dimetapp. Just as we’d arrived under the shelter, Summer pointed out two dolphins that were feeding just below us out in Porpoise Bay and we watched them frolicking about while we had breakfast and a chat. Last night a couple told us they had gone surfing and had the dolphins come right up to them! Gregory and I have wet suits so we did contemplate taking out boogie boards but by the time we’d packed up our wet tent and made our way down to the beach we couldn’t see any dolphins and besides that it was bitterly cold and raining. Nick pointed out that the rain shouldn’t matter because you are just going to get wet anyhow!

The Catlins ~ Nugget Point Lighthouse

Keith and Judy Sutton with Mike and Gregory at their business Sutton Canvas Products Ltd. in Dunedin (One last goodbye...)

I took a picture of this sign (on the outside of a building) because I just found it interesting that Kiwis say it is time to do "maths" versus in America we would just say "math" with no "S" on the end. It makes sense though because it is short for mathematics.

We watched seals frolicking down in the rocks from this viewing point at the base of the lighthouse.

Nugget Point/Roaring Bay/Pounawea

When it was time to say goodbye to our Dunedin friends, The Sutton Family, Gregory was begging to stay just one more night. We all felt the same way but we knew our time left in New Zealand was nearing an end and there was so much more to see. I love what Judy said to Gregory, “Good things come to an end so more good things can come along!” We promised to try to see them Easter weekend at their bach (“batch”) up in Twizel, gave them big hugs, and then headed south to The Catlins.

It was late in the afternoon when we finally reached Nugget Point and the 40-minute return hike out to the lighthouse. Though rain threatened we put on our rain jackets and headed out. It was only spitting now and again and we were soon warmed up enough that we peeled off the outerwear. The sea was amazingly calm and we stood on the cliffs watching the kelp dance along the rocky coastline. From the viewing platform at the lighthouse we could see seals playing in the rock pools that formed in the massive rocks that peaked up above the oceans surface. [I read that Nugget Point is the only place where New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), New Zealand sea lions (whakahao) and the southern elephant seal (ihupuku) co-exist.] Though we met with occasional sprinkles, the night was warm and we delighted in the fragrant scents we encountered as we made our way along the track back to the car park.

On our return to the main road we stopped at Roaring Bay to see if we could spy some more Yellow-eyed penguins (hoiho). Though we’d seen several at Oamaru we were eager to see one a bit closer. (This hide was closer to the beach and the penguin’s point of exit from the sea as well as the hillside where they have their burrows.) We sat up on the cliffs in the hide for quite some time and though others on the track reported seeing four penguins earlier, we only just saw one climbing in his burrow as we arrived.

A late arrival and rainy weather lead us to rent our second cabin on this trip. We camped at Pounawea with our cabin view overlooking the water. Our bunk bed had a double on the bottom (complete with linens) and Gregory had his own twin bunk up top. Their was a large group of teens running about the camp and the kitchen was packed so we got ourselves organized and then had a late dinner when things settled down a bit. As long as we were splurging for a cabin we decided to rent The Chronicles of Narnia ~ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to watch on our laptop. We’d recently been to Elephant Rocks on The Vanished World Fossil Trail, and in the film, Elephant Rocks is the site used for Aslan’s camp. We all snuggled together on the bottom bunk, on our bellies with hands on cheeks glued to the computer screen. It was fun to watch it together and try to pick out the specifics of where we’d just been. (For those of you who aren’t aware of it The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was filmed here in New Zealand as well. I understand that fans of the movies flock here and make their way to the many sites where the filming took place.)

Royal Northern Albatross & Pavlova

Albatross Life cycle

Northern Royal Albatross

It is hard to perceive from this picture but the wing span can be up to 3 metres (9'6") across. The albatross is capable of swooping speeds of more than 115kph (71mph)!

Taiaroa Head on the tip of the Otago Peninsula

Help! It's extremely windy out here!!

Spotted Shag Colony at Taiaroa Head out on the Otago Peninsula

Gregory and Emily Sutton

Gregory prepares to serve the Pavlova (New Zealand's National Dessert) that he so carefully garnished with kiwifruit and raspberries. See description of Pavlova below.

(Note: Gregory is wearing his new glow-in-the-dark "Footprints of New Zealand" t-shirt.)

"The pavlova is a crisp shell of meringue with a marshmallow centre smothered with whipped cream decorated with kiwifruit & strawberries."

Judy Sutton, granddaughter Emily Sutton and Gregory (We've kept Emily up past her bedtime on a school night to share dessert with us.)

On Monday, while Keith and Judy went off to work, we connected with family via Skype and then made our way out to the Royal Northern Albatross Colony at Taiaroa Head on the tip of the Otago Peninsula. It is the world’s only mainland breeding colony of the Royal Northern Albatross. These spectacular birds have a wingspan that exceeds three metres (9'6"), a recorded life span of 60+ years and reach flight speeds of over 115kph (71 mph)! We walked out past the car park to the cliffs of Taiaroa Head with hopes of seeing the albatross flying but since we didn’t see them 15 years ago we weren’t sure we’d seen them today. The wind was so forceful that it almost blew us over and my ears ached with the wind and cold. We walked along the railing with our eagle eyes open and saw a colony of spotted shags on the cliff but no albatross. Just when we thought we’d had enough wind and were headed back to the car Mike spotted an albatross flying overhead!! It wasn’t long before there was another and then another. After seeing about the fourth the wind picked up a dust cloud of sand and threw it in my eyes. As I was in the car getting eye drops Gregory and Mike saw 4 more! It was an exhilarating experience.

On the other side of the car park we were up close and personal with a seal that frolicked in the water and then came up on shore in front of us to sun himself! Everywhere we turn we have amazing animal experiences.

That evening we cooked tea for Judy and Keith and Gregory did an excellent job of decorating a Pavlova with fresh kiwifruit and raspberries. The Pavlova is New Zealand’s national dessert. It is a crisp shell of meringue with a marshmallow centre smothered with whipped cream on top and then decorated with kiwifruit and strawberries (in this case we used raspberries). We cheated a bit and bought the Pavlova in the bakery and then Judy whipped the cream and Gregory did the fruit. We decided it must be shared so we brought it over to Glenn and Julia’s and Gregory has some more play time with the girls.

Dunedin ~ Rugby and The Sutton Family

Otago Highlanders Rugby Match at the Carisbrook Stadium in Dunedin

Enjoying the rugby with Keith Sutton and his granddaughter Emily Sutton

Gregory has tea (dinner) with Lucy (left) and Emily Sutton

At the Moana Pool are Glenn, Emily, Ruby (front), Lucy and Julia Sutton (Glenn is Judy and Keith Sutton's oldest son).

Keith Sutton and Gregory (middle center) enjoying the rushing river at the Moana Pool. We all had a great time on the Hydro slide as well.

We had a picnic lunch at Queens Park. Here Gregory poses in front of a statue of Queen Victoria.

Keith and Judy took us on a walk up the Pineapple Track with stunning views of Dunedin and the surrounding countryside. (No pineapples but the flax bushes make it look a bit like pineapple fields.)

The tunnel to Tunnel Beach

Views from the walking track down to Tunnel Beach

Keith and Gregory ~ Tunnel Beach

Opposite view from the cliffs rising up over Tunnel Beach

Judy and Gregory have a chat and a rest on the steep climb back up from Tunnel Beach.

Mike and Dorrie having some fun

In New Zealand, hamburger is referred to as Beef Steak "Mince"

After leaving the Moeraki Boulders we arrived in Dunedin, home of our dear friends Judy and Keith Sutton whom we met 15 years ago on the banks of the Twizel River here on the South Island. You see the Suttons have a holiday bach there and Mike and I just happened to be having our lunch along the river. (We were bicycling at the time.) Well, Judy Sutton heard American voices and just had to investigate. We made our introductions and Judy asked where we were from. I said I grew up in a small town in northern California and Judy proceeded to ask where. When I said Redding our lives became forever entwined. Their daughter Christine was at that very moment over in Redding, California as an aupair (nanny)! Now you talk about a small world.

Later that trip we visited with them in their hometown of Dunedin and their daughter ended up having Easter at my mother’s house! When Judy came to California for a visit she was sure to come to Chico and give us the surprise of our lives. She popped in on Mike at his employer; Pullins Cyclery and he promptly brought her home to see me. To this day Judy remembers how I screamed when I saw her.

The reception this visit was just as warm and we all got enormous hugs upon arrival. We couldn’t stop visiting from the second we came through the door and at the last minute we decided to grab a quick bite and head off for the second half of the Otago Highlanders Rugby Match. I was our first rugby match and though I didn’t know half of what was going on it was a thrill to be in the grandstands of this huge stadium watching kiwis have a go at one another. We managed to find Keith and Judy’s son Glenn, who was there with two of his daughters, and after watching the game Gregory, Keith, Emily and I went down on the field and the kids had a chase under the stadium lights. After the game we connected with Judy and Keith’s younger son Darryl (who was 12 when we last saw him) and we all sat in the stands and visited for some time before we had to take the kids home and get them tucked in to bed.

We spent one day just catching up and had a really nice dinner with Glenn and his wife Julia and the girls, Emily, Ruby and Lucy and were also joined by Darryl and his girlfriend Kate. The next morning we joined Glenn, Julia and girls at the Moana pool for some water fun. The Aquatic complexes here are something else. There were various pools of different depths, all quite warm, with fountains, rapid river loops, diving boards, a high dive platform, a spa (for adults) and Gregory’s favorite the hydro slide. We all got in on the action and Keith, Mike, Greg and I made close to a dozen runs on the slide. (Gregory many more!) It was tons of fun for all!

Judy connected with us after the pool and we had a picnic in the Queens Park where a statue of Queen Victoria watched over us. After that there was a hike on the Pineapple Walking Track with majestic views of Dunedin and then a vigorous walk down to Tunnel Beach with grand views of the sea, spectacular stacks, arches and cave formations along this sweeping coastline. We were told that the Cargill family had a castle not far from Tunnel Beach and that because Mr. Cargill’s daughter wanted to be able to get down the cliffs to play on the beach he had Stairway Tunnel dug through the mountainside to give access to this small beach surrounded by striking sandstone sea cliffs on three sides. I thought that was quite a nice story and I’m sure back then it was no small feat to create that tunnel and with a pick I imagine. It was a jam-packed day made special by the friends we shared it with.