For a couple of townies, coming to Clareville A & P Showgrounds for our weekend caravan rally is always a delight. The wide open spaces, surrounded by paddocks full of sheep, and the adjoining stockyards and huge hay barn makes this a great weekend venue. Our caravan club Heretaunga, was hosting a joint rally with both the Wairarapa and Wellington Caravan Clubs, so we made sure we arrived bright and early.
We were the first to arrive
The weekly stock auction was taking place just over the way so I just had to go and check it out, camera in hand. Wonder if I’ll find some pigs? Stock numbers were down this week, I was told, and there were no pigs changing hands. Plenty of sheep, cattle and calves though, all bellowing, bleating and in the case of the young ones, calling plaintively for their mothers.
We don’t want to be here
Young calves waiting to be auctioned
This handsome fellow with a double set of horns was in a pen by himself. There was a school group looking around the auction, with clipboards in hand. “I wonder what sort he is?”, I asked, presuming that these were a group of country kids. One of the boys looked at the label. “That breed’s a ram”, he informed me with authority, reading from the label. “That’s not right”, I pointed out, “a ram means that he is a male sheep”. He looked at me, but I could tell by his face that he didn’t believe me.
The mystery ram
The friendly auctioneer was sitting outside in the sunshine, waiting till it was time to go inside and start work. He told me that the ram is an Arapawa Island sheep, now known as a “rare breed of New Zealand origin”. Historical records suggest that sheep have been known on Arapawa Island in the Marlborough Sounds for at least 130 years. The first sheep were probably escapees of a flock of mainly Merino origin known to have been introduced in 1867, the original stock having undoubtedly come from Australia. The Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand was formed to conserve, record and promote these breeds with the particular aim of maintaining genetic diversity within our livestock species.
The auctioneer
The bus selling food and drinks comes to the stock sale each week. As we read the blackboard menu, Robin couldn’t resist the thought of a steak and onion sandwich for lunch. Take-aways it was, with a hot bacon and egg sandwich for me, and we shared a pot of chips.
Hot take-aways for lunch
Caravans rolled in all afternoon, found themselves a site, and hooked up to the power. By the late afternoon, there was a select gathering of twelve of us, representing three caravan clubs. Friday of any rally weekend is generally a laid back day, and we enjoyed a get-together of 4zees (happy hour) out in the sunshine. Then later in the evening we met up again in the huge hay shed for chatting, and relating any jokes we had gathered up to share. The resident pigeons fluttered about overhead and Peter had us all worried when he swore he saw a rat scamper by as the light was fading. No doubt there are rats and mice galore amongst all those hay bales, just keep them away from us ladies – we don’t want anything nasty running up our trouser legs!
Towering bales of hay
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