I can't believe it's been one week on the trail. It's been a blast so far. We left the Taylor hostel and made our way through the second largest station (ranch) in NZ and largest sheep station, Mt. Linton. It took a while for this private land owner to allow trampers (hikers) through so there are lots of rules. Daytime only, 8 people or less, no camping,... We made our way through the station on gravel roads. 12 miles of gravel roads. Sheep and cattle everywhere. We reached to top of one hill to find a ranch hand with 8 dogs. He asked us to step to the side of the road by his truck. They we running 6,000 lambs down the road. Sure enough, about 5 minutes after we stopped, the first of the lambs rounded the bend. It was a treat to watch how he could command each dog in a low voice and a whistle. An hour and a half later the lambs had passed and we continued on. The station's rolling hills and rugged mountain back drop made for a perfect NZ tourism photo. Shadow and I herded some some sheep of our own along the road near the back of the property. We found a nice tree to sleep under and this is our first night of major sandfly population. They covering our tent by the hundreds. Needless to say, we ate snacks for dinner so we would have to cook outside with them.
6,000 lambs.
Herding sheep.
Dinner
Sandflies
Country Mouse and Shadow
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