Chasing a Woolly Dream

“Jamie, pull over right now. Right now, seriously Jamie, pull over!”

Andrea had forsaken her seatbelt and looked ready to tuck and roll out of the car at any second, despite the fact that she was shoeless and had her belt unbuckled and dangling around her hips.

“I need to hug a wild sheep.”

For the past few months, as we’d lived in a country where the sheep-to-human ratio is roughly 10:1, animal-loving Andrea had been intent on getting cuddly with one of New Zealand’s woolly, four-legged inhabitants. And, for the past couple of days, as we’d driven through New Zealand’s sheep-covered South Island, her goal got closer and closer to becoming reality.

“Wild” in this case meant a sheep or lamb that was not behind a fence; I don’t think truly “wild” sheep exist anywhere, least of all in New Zealand. But lots of sheep do exist there, especially in the south, where sprawling sheep farms are the norm.

Conveniently, as we wound our way along the south coast on our way from Dunedin to Invercargill, an increasing number of Andrea’s “wild” sheep began appearing. A couple of lambs nonchalantly munching on some grass on the side of the road here, a lone muddy sheep wandering aimlessly in a ditch there, and even a mother sheep and her two lambs that took off running down the middle of the road (in front of our car) as we approached.

Each time a “wild” sheep or lamb was spotted along the side of the mostly deserted highway, Andrea would demand that Jamie stop the car so she could get out to – in most cases – chase the animal with outstretched arms until it either scurried too far away or scrambled back under the fence it had escaped from. The sheep did not seem receptive to hugs, and Andrea always returned to the car frowning.

But on this particular occasion, as we drove through lush green farm country under the kind of perfectly blue New Zealand sky that often gets emblazoned on postcards, we came upon two plucky “wild” lambs. As Andrea ordered Jamie to pull over, the larger of the two woolly toddlers actually came ambling over to our rental car, looking interested.

Andrea, who had been dozing in the back seat with her shoes kicked off and her belt unbuckled, was totally unprepared for this new breed of curious sheep. She jammed her feet halfway into her tennis shoes, and was leaning out the window before the car was completely stopped. The lamb sniffed at her fingers.

That was all it took.

Disregarding her dangling belt and partial footwear, Andrea thrust her camera into my hands and was out of the car in a matter of seconds, startling the lambs. The smaller of the two scampered away, and the larger lamb took a few hurried steps up the road. Jamie and I saw the telltale signs of another unsuccessful sheep-hugging venture, but had our cameras at the ready anyway.

Luckily, a tall patch of grass soon distracted the larger lamb, and he/she didn’t get very far. Andrea took advantage of the opportunity, and gingerly picked her way over to the animal, where it let her pat it on the head.

“Get out here! Take a picture!”

Soon Jamie and I had abandoned the car and crowded around Andrea and her “wild” sheep in the New Zealand countryside. The lamb didn’t seem perturbed to be patted, photographed – or even hugged.

It wasn’t until it was all over that Andrea noticed her dangling belt. But we assured her sacrificing her wardrobe in her photos was the least she could do to get that illusive wild-sheep-hugging picture.

She would go on to sacrifice other things on that trip for animals. The next morning, she would sacrifice her breakfast, eating only toast after being told by our farm stay host that “the farm animals provided your meal for you this morning,” which included ham, eggs, and sausages.

A day after that, she would sacrifice her jacket when she got slobbered on by a doe at Deer Park Heights that shoved its whole head in our car window looking for treats. As Andrea held up her saliva-covered hand, wailing a disgusted “Ewwwww” at Jamie and I from the backseat, we told her word of her love for animals must have gotten around.

“They’re all going to want hugs now.”