Sheep Herding

New Zealand has more sheep than people, way more sheep than people. The population of New Zealand is approximately 4 million and the number of sheep is estimated to be around 40 million. How many sheep per person is that? The economy of New Zealand is largely based on agriculture and forestry. To learn more about these industries, we visited two facilities in the Rotorua area, a research center that focuses on how to grow better trees faster and the Agrodome, an agricultural tourism center. At the forestry center, we learned that the most popular tree for lumber in New Zealand is actually from California. While Monterey Pines grow slowly in California, because of the rich volcanic soils and year round rainfall in parts of New Zealand, these trees can grow very quickly here. A tree that may take 100 years to mature in California could be ready to harvest in only 25 years in New Zealand. At the Agrodome we had the chance to see a sheep herding demonstration, feed alpacas, pick kiwi fruits from the vine, and get up close and personal with some sheep.