Sunday, October 29, 2006

We had a fairly leisurely morning with a shower and breakfast of corn flakes before leaving at 9:15 for our tour of a working ecologically sound sheep farm in the interior. A beautiful ride thru the countryside (although it's still scary riding on the wrong side of the road - but I stand corrected - we're driving and riding on the "opposite" side of the road! Still scary no matter what you call it.) We passed thru some small, yet familiar towns, - Gretna for one - Bushy Park. Saw wine country and hop farms. Little known fact: Tasmania and this area we're passing thru in particular is the largest producer of hops in the world. So, beer drinkers and bar bettors: there's one for you. The fields have just been planted as it's spring here. It's a climbing plant and they grow up strings thru netting on the top. It would make a great arbor I would think. It's very strange looking though when the plants are new. And there are hop kilns all over, abandoned now, but they use to dry and store them there. They are hard to describe - two or three stories high, mostly round turret type buildings made of stone - they'd make a good mini-castle. I guess they have newer ways to do all this and now there are these really interesting buildings all over the place - some in disrepair and some being used in other ways, such as houses and Bed and Breakfasts. Very interesting.
We arrived at Cunnega Farms to a breakfast of coffee, tea, scones and bisquits - all homemade by the farmess and absolutely delicious. Our tour guide was the farmer Tim who happens to be the owner/operator of the place. (Aside, Alf tells us later that he taught Tim and his brother when he was an itinerant PE teacher here years ago.) He told us a little about the place before our driving tour. He has over 3000 sheep on 750 acres along with cabbage, barley, rye, oats, a few other crops and two bed and breakfast cottages. He runs the whole place with his wife and two children along with one domestic and one farmhand. Quite a good bit of work. He's a young man, probably in his mid-30's, with a strong sturdy build, fair complected with a short, flat haircut and an easy manner of talking. You can tell he likes what he does but if I'd met him in the city, I'd say he worked for a firm of some sort.
We loaded up in the least amount of cars and he led us caravan style onto the property where we immediately saw an echidna digging along the side of the road. He stopped all the cars while we all piled out and looked at it - quite an interesting and supposedly rare animal. They have quills like a porcupine and a soft underbelly, with webbed feet and a long snout. They lay eggs (reptilian), nurse their young (mammalian) and have a pouch (marsupian). He said they are very rare here in Tasmania and he hardly ever sees one. She-It was digging along a fence post, I'm guessing for cover. It was pretty weird looking and we moved on.
Tim took us on to an overlook of the property where he explained the ecology of the region and what their goals are for the farm. The weather patterns here are shifting; the rains they used to get in the winter are now coming in the summer and they are in a drought condition with no end in sight. Some of the huge eucalyptus trees on the property are dying due to the loss of water and this compacts things more as there is less shade, more drying out of the soil, etc. He grows some of his crops for seed and some of the farmers in the area grow poppies for the pharmaceutical companies. He hopes to be able to sustain his family on the farm and pass it on to his children.
We then went to the lake on the property which is their supply of fresh water - unfiltered- piped directly from the lake to the house. It was a beautiful serene spot with that clear, blue, cold water lake in the foreground and the green hills and mountains in the background. A true postcard scene. Everyone took lots of pictures.
Loading up again, we headed back to the barn where Tim sheered a sheep for us - a Merino - those of you into crafts will recognize that name. When he was done, which didn't take long, I might add, he picked the pelt up and threw it up on the weighing and sorting station - all in one piece! It was pretty amazing and he claimed he wasn't any good at it. During the sheering season, he told us they hire shearers who come to the farm and do all 3000 sheep at once. Years past, they would come and set up camp either in the barn or on the grounds and stay until they were done, travelling from one farm to another to make their living. And he says, they make a fine living at it. Now, they mostly just go back home after a day's work to their wife and kids.
He had us feel the differences in the wools he produces - the wool feels very different from feed sheep than that of the Merinos and the ones that cross. He can sell all of it but at very different prices!
We moved on after that to a demonstration of his sheep herding dog - amazing. He let a flock of sheep out of one pen - probably about 75 of them and then told the dog where he wanted them. It didn't take the dog long to gather them all up and into the area he indicated. Tim said that the dog takes the place of 10 men in his herding abilities. It was amazing and I got a lot of the farm and the whole sheep sheering and herding demonstations on video. Now, if I could only figure out how to link them up to this. . . . . .
Our tour being over, we loaded up the cars and went to the Tall Trees National Park for a lovely "Sausage Sizzle" lunch consisting of those wonderful sausages, salads and drinks. We took several photos of the whole group - all of us - and after lunch we went for a short walk to Russell Falls. The scenery was spectacular like walking thru a primordial rain forest - Disney-esque. The trees were unusually tall - I have a picture of Wil with them in the background for comparison - and I'm guessing they were eucalyptus trees but I don't really know for sure. The waterfall was lovely and once again, took many more pictures with it in the background. Maggie and I decided to go back while Wil and Alf went on up the trail to look over the falls. We saw a roadrunner on the way back to the car. Didn't know they lived here. Wil was amazed that he couldn't keep up with Alf as Alf is 74 years old. But he's been walking as a hobby for most of his life and his knees are not like Wil's. Still Wil was in awe of him.
We stopped at a Last Resort sale on the way home. Maggie says they have them here all the time and it's the last resort trying to sell this stuff before shipping it off to Antartica. No one bought anything but me and I bought a $5 bra after asking lots of heavy set women what size they buy - it seems they are sized differently here. (But in retrospect, I wish I'd bought 5 more of them - it's the most comfortable bra I've had in a long time!)
We got home in time enough for Maggie to fix a dessert and off to dinner at Dolores and Horst's house. Several non Friendship Force couples were there and it was an interesting group. I met a climatologist who teaches at the U of Tasmania and another couple from there along with a few of the Friendship Force people. I think it's a good idea to have these dinner parties with others who aren't hosting and to invite prospective members to see what it's all about. It was a very interesting evening with good food and conversation but I have Montezuma's Revenge. So home for a couple of trips to the bathroom before a good night's sleep. I go from one extreme to the other.
And now, I'm counting sheep separating the Merinos from the non, as I nod off to sleep. . . z.z.z.z.