I really love to travel because I think it's interesting to see and experience different cultures. Two days ago we got to see how a typical New Zealand farm operates. The first thing I noticed about how different the farm was from farms back home, was the fact that there were so many hills! When I think of farms, I think of large flat pastures, but this farm had it's highest point at 2000 meters above sea level. From the top we could see all of Rotorua, old volcanic sites, and the lakes that surrounded it.
We also learned about what used to be one of the biggest exports in New Zealand, wool. They contracted people to come in twice a year to shear the sheep. These contractors were real professionals, they could shear one entire sheep in under two minutes!!! Now that synthetics are so popular, the price of wool has decreased greatly, and the farmers have had to look into other goods.
One thing they're currently in the process of growing are truffles. Truffles are a fungus that grow from nodules on the roots of trees. It's a very tricky process, which the French have kept very secretive for many years. The New Zealand farmers were hoping to make these an export during the off-season in France, since truffles are harvested in the winter, and New Zealand and France have opposing seasons.
My favorite part of the farm was the two sheep dogs, Cloud and Scotty. With just a few short calls and whistles from the sheep herder, the dogs shot off into the pasture and rounded up some rams so that we could see. They always work in pairs and are very intelligent. With one dog on either side, they were able to herd the sheep and keep them closely together in a pack. If one sheep tried to stray from the pack, Cloud and Scotty were quick to round them all back up. It was like watching the movie "Babe"!
Hien Tran
