Sheep Shearing, Yarning, and Hooning about the Hills—Kiwi As!

During reading week the students had the opportunity to visit Kevin and Sandra Topp’s shear farm. Kev and Sandy are dear friends of CCSP whose 4,000 acre farm—named Totaranui—is nestled in the Kaikoura range in the Puhi-Puhi valley over the Jordan River. Similar to another place which lies across another Jordan River, the Topp’s farm is something of a Promised Land; green pastures spread up mountainsides and the peaks of some of the highest giants of the Seaward Kaikouras peer from between the hills.

After meeting Kev and Sandy Topp—two tough-as, sweet-as, and hospitable-as kiwis—Kevin gave the students a tour of the wool shed and an idea of what the wool industry and wool processing looks like from the shear-farmer’s perspective. Stewart the sheep—the former CCSP pet—had his second haircut that afternoon as Kev sat the somewhat bewildered Stewie at his feet and sheared him with an electric tool as the students watched. We then saw how more traditional shearing tools are used and witnessed the process of wool sorting and baling—Adam (Messiah, 13) and Ben (Messiah, 12) helped stomp down the bales of fluffy wool.

To our delight, Sandy and Kev had also herded a mum with two lambs into the woolshed and we were able to cuddle with them (though the lambs simply seemed to want to be back with their mum). Kev explained that shear farmers must remove the tails of lambs so that they don’t have trouble with flies and maggots, which can disease and kill sheep. We were a little afraid that he was going to pull out those super-sharp shears again but Kevin used a cool tool to put rubber bands around the tails of the two lambs: after a while, the tails will simply fall off without any blood circulation.

The rest of the tour involved a look at the chooks in the henhouse, saying hello to the sheepdogs and prized pet dogs, and being educated on Turkish cat breeds. After a spot of tea we piled in the vans and followed Sandy up the road to the cow pasture. “Now just imagine,” Sandy told us as we left the vans and walked through the pasture, “You’re driving six white horses in a gilded carriage and are about to visit your country cottage…”

Amongst blossom trees and snowdrops stood an old, dilapidated but intriguing turn-of-the-century house that belonged to a family from London who came to Kaikoura to escape the hubbub of the city. The small “estate” included a butler’s quarters and outside lavatory, now enmeshed by a network of tree branches. Students explored the rooms; Lauren (Bethel, 12) found intricate shards of glass while others discovered old woodstove and even faded and shriveling maps of New Zealand from the late 1800’s plastered on the walls and ceiling of the butler’s house. Kevin and Sandy discovered this place after purchasing the property and it was a pleasant surprise to both of them.

It was wonderful to visit our friends at Totaranui farm, as always, and we are sure to be back again sometime. Kev is even trying to convince Adam to be a shear farmer…