New Zealand recap

Our last full day in New Zealand was quite an eventful one (Amber gave llama injections, I ran to a local waterfall, we finally sold our car, the list could go on and on).

As we get ready to leave for China I thought I'd share what I just wrote for the New Zealand Llama Association magazine.

An amazing trip from tip to tip

Hidden in a colourful collage on Penny King's bathroom wall is a postcard promoting a book about the "extraordinary passions of ordinary New Zealanders."

During our three month tour of New Zealand, it's safe to say we've met some extraordinary New Zealanders with a similar passion -- llamas, of course.

Right there at the top of our list is Julie Insley, who ironically is featured on the cover of the "With a Passion" book.

We were fortunate enough to spend three weeks at her place once we arrived in February.

Julie, owner of Rangemore Llama Farm in Kerikeri and president of the New Zealand Llama Association, is quite an inspiration.

Following a horse riding accident years ago in Papua New Guinea, Julie said she felt unsafe at the unpredictability of horses. So she found herself a herd of llamas in the nearby town of Russell and instantly fell in love.

In 1996, she bought her first llama.

"What the hell do you do with a llama?" she remembered thinking.

Well, she soon found out as she eventually acquired the whole herd of 16 llamas from Russell.

"They're like potato chips," she said. "You can't have just one."

While she's on the computer in the early morning and evening hours, Julie likes to spend the days out with her herd of llamas, which has now grown to about 50.


Julie zips around in her electric wheelchair, usually with a cup of Milo close by and Bruno, a green Indian Ringneck, either on her lap or hat. She said she's constantly amazed at the reliability and intelligence of llamas.

"I don't see malice in a llama," she said.

We were honoured when Julie chose to name her Leap Year baby cria after Ediza.

From Kerikeri we headed down to Thames to help first-time llama owners Mark Skelding and his partner, Trish.


In their kitchen they have a chalkboard shaped like a rooster where they write things they want -- things ranging from a first aid kit to a kitchen sink plug. For a long time they had llamas written on it until Mark's mother bought them a pair for his 50th birthday.

"I always thought they were really, really cool," Mark said of llamas.

After more than a week of exploring the Coromandel Peninsula, we made our way to Wellington to catch the ferry down to the South Island. First up, was Peter and Sue Wastney's dome-shaped house in Nelson.

Sue -- a friendly lady who always has a story to share -- takes care of a menagerie of animals, including a herd of about 20 llamas and alpacas.


Amber and Sue enjoyed grooming a trio of female llamas and taking them for walks at places like the mud flats across from where they live and in the gentle waves at the beach.

A highlight of our time in Nelson was when Peter flew us in his four-person airplane across the top of the South Island, a flight spanning from Karamea to the Farewell Spit and across the Golden Bay region.

We stayed two enjoyable weeks in Nelson before driving to Llama Lookout in Governors Bay, just outside of Christchurch, where we were greeted by Robyn Robinson and her family.

There, our accommodation was a beautiful llama-themed apartment, in which Amber added a new piece of artwork to.

"The reason why we have llamas is because we think they're living art," Robyn says.

She thinks of her herd as an extension of her family.

A llama owner for the past 10 years, Robyn said she can't imagine life without them. "I only ever want just one more," she said of her llama addiction.

Amber also led a successful training and trekking seminar at Llama Lookout (see Robyn's article).


Robyn gave us numerous tours of the area, including stops at Anne Thompson's place and Fred and Emma Schwithal's ranch, Palmdale Llamas. Diane Kelly even gave us a tour of Akaroa -- the only French settlement in New Zealand and the oldest town on the South Island.

After nearly two fun-filled weeks at Llama Lookout we drove straight down to the Catlins at the bottom of the South Island.

We stayed at our own little beach house in the remote town of Papatowai, where the coastal rain forest meets the sea.

While down south, we got a full-day tour of Janette Buckingham's Thickthorne Llamas property. Janette and her husband, George, own a 1,400-acre farm which has llamas, guanacos, cows, sheep and even yaks.


During a tour of their place, Janette showed us some of the clothing she creates with her animals fibre.

Janette first got a small herd of guanacos almost 20 years ago to spin their fibre and make clothing out of it. She soon found, however, there wasn't much variation in the guanacos brown coat. Hence llamas.

Having visited Cape Reinga at the very top of the North Island during our stay in Kerikeri, we took a break from Thickthorne Llamas to drive to nearby Slope Point -- the southern most point of the South Island.

On our drive back up the island, we saw the beautiful fall foliage of Queenstown and the mystical Aoraki Mount Cook National Park before arriving at Cushchine Cottage in Kaikoura.

Cushchine Cottage differed from the others we stayed at because it's an actual farm park. Along with a herd of seven male llamas, they have a variety of other animals -- ranging from donkeys to a wallaby -- that people come to see.


Owner Lynn Barrett bought the farm park last year and moved there from England in November.

In England, Lynn worked for an insurance company and did some llama trekking on the side. Wanting a change, she found the Cushchine Cottage property on Trade Me.

"I've always wanted my own little bit of land, not necessarily a farm park, but the idea appealed to me when I found it," she said.

After a long journey back to the North Island, we arrived in the Auckland area at our seventh and final llama farm -- Karma Llamas.

Owner Penny King helped us wrap up some loose ends, like selling our car. She also took us over to Geoff Clarke and Jenny Arscott's place for a lovely lunch and tour of their place.


Penny, vice president of the NZLA, has a herd of 23 llamas and enjoys taking them out on day treks. The name of her ranch came from a line of poetry some kids wrote after meeting her llamas: "If you want good karma, take care of your llamas."

Judging from what we've seen, the extraordinary (not to mention generous and hospitable) llama people we met on our journey should certainly enjoy good karma for some time to come.