Domesticated Critters Between Rotorua and Waitomo

The trip between Rotorua and Waitomo was all about the animals. Of course, "all about the animals" could apply to just about anywhere else in New Zealand, given that the country boasts nine sheep for every person. Lest this seem like a ridiculous amount of sheep, the population has actually been in decline since the 1980s, when there were over seventy-million sheep and the ratio was upwards of twenty sheep to every human being.

That's a lot of sheep.

Because of this still ridiculous number of woolly ruminant mammals, places like the Agrodome, outside of Rotorua, have been able to parley the rather mundane industry of sheep-farming into a bit of a tourist draw.

Baaaaaa

Lambs are cute.

God I Hate You... So Much

But, by the time they grow up into the sheep equivalent of surly teenagers they're not quite so charming.

New Zealand Also Has a Lot of Ducks

Sheep weren't the only animals around the Agrodome. There were also ducks.

Objects in the Viewfinder May Be Closer Than They Appear

And a herd of ostriches.

It's Just a Harmless Little Bunny, Isn't It?

To tell you the truth, the Agrodome wasn't a particularly interesting and I could have easily better spent the NZ$13 I paid to sit through a farm show and watch a (albeit somewhat amusing) rundown of nineteen different breeds of sheep. The only reason I wrote about the lambs and sheep and ducks and ostriches was to provide a rambling prelude to one of the most bizarre tourist traps in New Zealand.

That would be The Shearing Shed, near the Waitomo Caves.

As It Turns Out, It Was Pretty Harmless. (This Was No Rabbit of Caerbannog. Or Jimmy Carter's Killer Rabbit)

This is where one can experience New Zealand's only angora rabbit shearing show.

I'm not sure picture and words will quite do justice to the experience of watching the hair-clipping of a large, lapine fur-ball. But I'll give it a go.

The rabbit is brought in and introduced. Many words are spent on informing the crowd that the bunnies are well cared for, that shearing is necessary for this particular angora breed as they don't molt (and risk overheating otherwise), and that the whole operation is approved by the New Zealand Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. All of this reassurance is a nod to the fact that what happens next is hilariously disturbing to some.

The aforementioned rabbit is secured by slip knot, spread-eagled, onto rotating apparatus that looks more like a mini-Medieval torture device. And then the bunny is sheared while being spin around as if on a spit. There were gasps from all corners, and one of the girls near the back muttered, "I can't watch this", slipping out of the room as soon as the electric clippers were turned on. I thought they were being overly sensitive. From my vantage point, the rabbit was showing no sign of distress and content to let whatever was happening happen. But I will say is that it was all a bit freaking odd.

I Mean, There's Docile, Then There's Just Literally Being a Roll Over

Once the demonstration was complete, we were invited to examine and touch the sheared rabbit. Oh, and to please visit the gift shop!

The Shearing Shed really is a shining example of New Zealand weirdness, and, unless you're a totally unreasonable worshipper at the altar of PETA, I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area, possibly as a time-waster being going caving. It's free, so how can you go wrong?

Related Entries:
1. And Now For Something Just a Little Bit Different
2. The Kiwi Experience
3. From White Water to Black Water (or Crazy Things to Do in New Zealand Part II)