A day of sheep and goatfish

With the boys gone, we did one more big day of adventure. We made our way back to Rodney district, to Warkworth and Leigh. Today we crossed off three of Mom's to do list; a sheep dog show, seeing the lab at Leigh, and snorkeling, which she sat out on the first time. Off to sheep's world we went and after pushing Mom through the gift shop, we ventured out to see the numerous farm animals and feed a few of them. Tiny lambs grazed just outside while large rams fought for our attention and the food in our hands.

Still a little early for the show, we wandered around using up as much of the feed as we could, petting the goats, cows, ponies, and donkeys. 

Dad, no longer tempted by bacon, was quick to make a friend a the pig pen. Funny though how we can look at an adult pig and think, "...hmm, I really wouldn't want one of those as a pet", and yet we think how cute they look when they are little piglets.

Then on to the main attraction. Two working dogs and a puppy who would be taking the old dog's place on the far left. Adorable as they were, these were working dogs so no petting unfortunately. In New Zealand, they use two breeds of dogs. The collie uses eye contact to stare the sheep into going where he wants, where as the other, a mix of several breeds including black lab, German shepherd, hound, and collie, uses its bark to flush sheep out of grassland where the collies' eyes will have no effect.

It really was quite amazing to see the collie demonstrating its herding behaviour, as it crawled along the meadow, stalking the sheep who hastily made their way down to the smaller pen. Balling up in defense and pinning themselves against the fence, they moved exactly where the dog was commanded to put them.

Once the dog part of the show was completed, the dogs settled down as we sorted and then lead to shearing the sheep. Our comical host showed how pressure points can be used to essentially immobilize and control the sheep while he carefully removes the immense coat of wool. The sheep is relatively relaxed, even allowing a view of its teeth with no resistance.

The sheep was done in several minutes or so, but apparently the world record is well under a minute, hardly an easy thing to do when covered in the oil on the shears that inhibits sweating. Mom was one of the few brave volunteers who got up to give it a go. I am sure Hunter (their dog) would have loved to join in on this part of the days activities.

With some more PB and J sandwiches in us, we headed to Leigh for our snorkel. Once again, with three blue suited adventurers, we ventured into the beautiful waters around Goat Island. With low tide, we were fortunate to see much more this time round. Including numerous busy goatfish, foraging along the sandy bottom.

For Dad, much of this was similar to what we had seen the first time, but for Mom and Mary-Ellen, it was a completely new world, with spotted snapper following them around through the kelp. It was not long before all members of our party were scattered throughout the water, questions and exclamations still heard through their snorkels.

Mary-Ellen was the first to spot an eagle ray, something we missed the first time round, and unfortunately, I was the only one able to keep up with it. I sped along side it for a good two minutes as it leisurely floated over kelp beds and rocks.

We had a blast, one last big hurrah on a spectacular journey. I guided Mary-Ellen in to shore, left Mom happily bobbing in the shallows, and then Dad and I headed into the channel to see what else was around.

Far in the channel, where few snorkelers ventured, species such as kelpies (below) and eagle rays were more comfortable and ventured out into the open. We poked around the rocks for a while before heading back through the main channel.

Larger schools of fish sat low against the bottom, waving with the kelp fronds in the constant surf. Dad and I bobbed up and down in the water as we swam back against the tide to the beach where the women were waiting and reminiscing of the sights they had seen.

With a wandering around the lab, a return of our gear to the Octopus Hideaway where we had rented them, we finished the day with a burger cooked by my good friend Jan before heading back to Auckland. A great day and it was nice to finally be able to bring my parents and wife into a world I love so much.