Feeding Alpacas

Warning: this post contains a serious dose of cuteness! I just had to share some photos of a recent visit to Cornerstone Alpaca Farm in Gordonton (near Hamilton). Feeding alpacas is a great activity for kids but thoroughly enjoyable as adults too.

My friend Dominique was keen to visit this Alpaca Farm not far from where she lives. We visited mid-week and were rather surprised to find how busy it was (as were the owners). It was still school holidays so I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The Classic Alpaca Tour was fully booked for the day and they couldn’t squeeze any more in, but we were able to go on a self-guided Feeding Tour. We were warned that we would fall in love with the alpacas – and we did!

We were each given a bag of feed and were shown the trail that took us past several different groups of alpacas. The feed was to encourage them to come close and interact with us (rather than feed them properly) but they were all ready and waiting. Alpacas are such delightful creatures each with their own personalities and such a range of different colours and looks. They are pretty gentle and well-behaved, although there was certainly a lot of jostling for position and the occasional spitting (at each other rather than at us). Some were very keen to get to the food but others really just wanted the attention: one little guy (Vinnie according to his name tag) seemed to pop up wherever I went but didn’t want to eat anything when I offered it to him. A mother and her new baby were in a separate paddock to the others and were just so delicate and elegant – we spent a lot of time with them.

There were different groups as we walked around the trail. I was intrigued by the different colours and that a mother and her baby could be so completely different. At the end we had been told there were a couple of heavily pregnant mothers who were very grumpy but one seemed very keen to see us. She wolfed down all of my remaining feed as though she was absolutely starving and kept trying to get our attention even after it was all gone.

After the Feeding Trail, we enjoyed lunch in the cafe – they managed admirably with the unexpected influx of people. And then we had a good look around the shop. Alpaca fibre is hollow and is extremely strong, warm (3-10 times warmer than wool) and lightweight. It is so soft and silky (with no itchiness) as well as being insulating, naturally moisture retardant and stain resistant. Spinners and weavers love to work with the exotic fibre (and that it comes in 22 natural colours).

Cornerstone Alpacas is a family farm, owned and operated by Dave and Sonja Blom. Dave is a dentist and former cattle stud farmer with a passion for building a strong genetic bloodline for Cornerstone Alpaca Stud. Sonja is an artist and manages the shop & alpaca tours.

As an artist experimenting, Sonja started by using their own fabulous alpaca fibre, and has developed in using different felting techniques. She has her own exclusive designer award winning alpaca accessories range, Alpaca Bejeweled, which is also sold exclusively in the farm shop. Many of her designer scarves are now worn by ladies all over the world. She is passionate about the alpacas and their exquisite fibre! Some of her abstract paintings are also on display in the shop and she is responsible for the design of all the spaces.