Life on the Farm

Last night we slept in the "sheep shearing accommodations" far up the hill (80 Km) from Hanmer Springs town. We had a "room" off the kitchen. Shared two toilets and two showers with our group (we managed). In the evening we walked up to the owners house. They prepared a wonderful locally produced meal of lamb and vegetables. Bill and Nicki and Nicki's mother, who was there on holiday, were wonderful hosts and we learned what is is like to live an hour from anywhere - much longer after the last earthquake. In the morning our guides, Steve and Chris, did the best they could to create breakfast considering the power went out at 6 AM (huge rain storm in the night). After breakfast, we learned lots about sheep shearing from Bill while we toured the shearing shed where 8,000 sheep are sheared in September (average 160 sheep per day per shearer). This is a big operation.