Townies in the Country

Brrrr – we woke to a very chilly morning in the caravan, only 3 degrees,  and peeped out the window.  Jack Frost had called and the paddock was painted white.  No wonder it was so cold.  Robin lit the diesel heater and the temperature slowly rose to a comfortable 20 degrees.

Frost covering the paddock

The alarm clock was set bright and early – we couldn’t sleep in as we had an appointment with a couple of goats.  Our hostess Gail had offered to let us “help” with milking the goats.  Just what sort of help she would get from a bunch of townies, I hate to think.  “Milking time is about 8.00am”, we were told, so we kept peeping out the frost covered windows to see if the goats were moving down to the barn.  Unknown to us, Gail had decided to delay the milking as it was so chilly. At last the goats started moving and we walked down to see just what was required from a rookie goat milker.  “Right”, she said, “just do it like this”, as she expertly squirted the milk into a bowl. 

   Gail milking the goat

Must admit that I was a bit frightened to sit behind the goat as I had visions of being kicked by those sharp hooves.  And the goat certainly knew that I was a novice and the bowl went flying a couple of times.  But after a while, I got into a bit of a rhythm and managed tolerably well, for a learner.  The billy goat was keeping a wary eye on me to make sure I was doing things right.

Trainee goat milker

None of the others wanted to have a go, so Gail expertly finished milking both goats in no time at all.  Then she decided to show us that her energetic young German Shepherd could in fact behave and took him through his obedience commands.  Gail certainly knows what she is doing, as she teaches dog obedience classes. 

Marley, the German Shepherd

The Huntaway knows her stuff too and has won many competitions, we were told.  This breed was developed to muster sheep on steep hillsides with a steady bark.  After the milking, this dog expertly moved the goats back into their paddock.

Prize winning Huntaway

This small holding has a bit of everything, chickens, sheep, even goldfish in a pond.  Gail also breeds Welsh Ponies and I went to check them out.  “Just watch out for the electric fence”, I was warned.   

A bunch of happy chooks

Welsh ponies

We really enjoyed our stay out in the country at Tapawera – a bunch of townies enjoying a taste of country life.  With the purchase of a dozen free range eggs, and the gift of a bottle of fresh goat milk, we were very happy campers indeed!