Today we headed about 30 minutes out of Canberra to visit the Alpaca Magic open day. It was beautiful, if not chilly, weather. The animals were fantastic. Who knew alpacas and llamas could have spots?

I’m a total alpaca geek. Way back in senior high school, I did a major assignment on alpacas for my Agriculture class. It was right back in the early days of mass email and I remember emailing alpaca breeders all over the country and asking for a sample of their fibre. It was very sweet – many of the producers sent me little packages for inclusion in the project. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Today, there were alpacas and llamas roaming freely in the yard. Elena was her usual uncertain self when we arrived, and somehow I ended up carrying her with Hugo in the Ergo. That’s about 15 kilograms of child.

She warmed up in the end though.

Some of the animals were very affectionate and curious. Alpacas and llamas seem to have great personalities.

Elena wasn’t such a fan of the cuddle. The animals must seem huge when you’re that little.

It seems they also enjoy a good dust bath.

Much better.

And then it was time to go home – with a happy and tired toddler, thank goodness!

I think Alex left glad that we’ll never have the space for an alpaca!

Alpaca Magic also run spinning workshops. I’m filing that away for a few years time when I can escape guilt-free and leave the little ones with Alex.

For my Canberra folks with little ones – the next open day is in Spring. We’ll be heading along for sure.