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Agrodome
Rotorua
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By
Richard Moore
 You
know the joke about New Zealand - that it's a country of 80 million
sheep, four million of which think they are human - and if you go
to the Agrodome near Rotorua
you may just start thinking that funny line is true.
For the Agrodome is all about New Zealand's agriculture and in particular
those large, rather stupid wooly things known as sheep.
Now
if you are starting to turn your nose up at visiting such a place
- don't. This is interesting for adults and kids alike and it is
rated as one of New Zealand's biggest tourist attractions.
 Busloads
of Japanese, South Koreans, Chinese, Australians, Americans, Canadians
and even Kiwis turn up every day to look around the exhibits and
see a very amusing - and educational - live sheep show.
No,
the sheep don't sing or tell jokes, but they do perform on stage
as a sheep-shearing master of ceremonies tells you all about the
creatures.
They
come on stage to order, sort of do as they are told while they are
up there and you find out about the different types of wool they
produce and whether or not they are good meat animals.
 Our
own Merino ranks No.1 - as it should - but fear not the Kiwis do
have their little jibes at us whenever they can.
Mind
you, the poor old South Koreans cop a bit of a humourous hammering
too so it's all good-natured sledging.
If you are brave enough you can get on stage and try to milk a cow
- trying to avoid large green sloppy bits of processed grass that
have unexpectedly arrived from under the bovine tail.
If
you manage to get some while hand-milking you'll end up with a Certificate
of Udderance to prove you've actually done one of the trickiest
little operations on a farm.
 The
shearing show is something to see and if you are from the city and
have never watched a guy clipping wool you can see why they have
to be so fit to shear a couple of hundred sheep in a day.
There
is a real skill to it - plus a knowledge of some pretty nifty little
pressure points that make the job easier.
Sheep
are pretty dopey animals, but they are also stubborn and the shearer
really has to heave them about a bit to be able to get the razor-sharp
cutters doing the job properly and most efficiently.
Once
you've seen the show you are cannot help but be impressed by the
world record shearing effort of 700+ of the little brutes - all
shorn in a single day.
While
at the show you also get introduced to the dogs that work the sheep
and they are as clever as the wooly things are dumb.
They
obey voice and whistle commands, climb up and over the back of sheep
and one even gets to round up ducks. Don't laugh, he's famous for
it.
At
the show be sure to sit near the front so your kids can race up
to join in the milking of the cow or feeding the lambs with bottles
of milk. They love it.
There
are three sheep shows daily - at 9.30am, 11am and 2.30pm - and they
are good fun for everyone.
Straight
after them you get to see the dogs go through a trial where they
herd three sheep through gates and then into a pen.
Despite
being a city boy I find this coordination of dog handler and dog
amazing.
The
Agrodome has a children's petting area called Kritterville where
they can get up close with all sorts of beasties such as calves,
lambs, goats, rabbits, ducks, pigs and fawns.
It
also offers a 45-minute guided tour over the Agrodome's 130-hectare
organic farm where you can get the latest buzz on honey making,
pick in-season kiwifruit (or taste kiwifruit wine).
There
is a new shearing shed exhibition, a chocolate factory to tour and
a historic 1906 wool-carding machine from Huddersfield, Britain,
that is still in working order and allows for demonstrations.
Nearby
the Agrodome is the adrenalin-pumping
Agrodome Adventure park.
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