Rotorua, NZ — Since there are about seven sheep for every person living in New Zealand, a career in sheep herding and shearing is something that could provide a lifetime of steady employment. I wanted to explore opportunities in this field and no where better could I do that than the Agrodome. Located just outside of the town of Rotorua, the Agrodome is a working farm and a sort of agricultural theme park. I guess you could say it is the Universal Studios of sheep.
Over 10 million guests have visited the Agrodome, since it was established nearly 40 years ago. It is an especially popular attraction for tourists from Korea and China. Most guests who come to the Agrodome purchase a combo package that includes The Farm Show and Farm Tour. The cost is $68.00 NZ.
We begin with The Farm Show. Guests are escorted into a large auditorium. Our master of ceremonies enters. He’s a husky looking South Asian man with a strong kiwi accent. He begins by asking guests where they are visiting from. I am one of the few from the USA. Then come the introduction of the sheep. Nineteen champion breeds of sheep enter the auditorium each marching obediently into place. It seems they’ve done this many times before. The MC explains each breed and what part of the world they come from.
Next comes the shearing demonstration. They bring in a ewe. “It’s important that the sheep be relaxed and the shearer is also relaxed, ” the MC states. He then turns on the clippers and starting from the stomach, completely shears the ewe in less than 10 minutes. “It doesn’t hurt her and she’ll need another haircut in about six months,” he adds. He passes the sheared wool to the audience so they can feel it. The wool also really stinks. The current world record for sheep shearing is held by New Zealander Matt Smith, who sheared 731 sheep in a total of nine hours. A record I have no desire to ever attempt to break.
The MC then brings a large dairy cow on stage. He asks for three volunteers to milk the cow. He chooses an Australian woman, a Chinese girl that must have been about seven or eight years old and a middle aged Korean man. The Korean man acts as if he has just won the gold medal in the Olympics. “KOREA!” he shouts, pumping his fist in the air. The mostly Korean audience cheers. The little Chinese girl slightly upstages him, he grabs onto her shoulder and pulls her back next to him. At that point, I feel like jumping onstage and using his face to mop up sheep shit. The cow milking begins, the Australian woman is first and she seems to know what she is doing. Next comes the Chinese girl, but before she even begins the Korean man goes over and instructs her where to grab and squeeze. If I where that girl’s father, I would be having words with that guy right now. Finally the Korean guy gets his chance. He successfully milks the cow, time to bring on the gold medal ceremonies.
After the cow milking, another group of volunteers is invited up. They are given bottles to feed the lambs. The audience loves it. Little do they know the fate of those lambs. For some reason, I keep thinking of Jodie Foster’s monologue to Hannibal Lechter in Silence of the Lambs. The show ends with tricks from the farm sheep dogs.
After the show, the farm tour begins. Guests hop into an open air tram like vehicle, that is pulled around by a giant tractor. It does remind me of Universal Studios. We see lots of sheep, some that you can feed and pet. There are lots of other animals too: cows, pigs, goats, deer, emu and alpaca the South American cousin of sheep. According to our driver, alpaca are much harder to shear than sheep. They are not as docile and it usually takes at least two people to shear them.
My experience at the Agrodome was fun and educational. I now have much more knowledge of sheep that ever before. Does this mean I’ll have a new career, well . . . ?
https://www.agrodome.co.nz/