Agrodome

The Agrodome show has run since 1971 and follows the same format: nineteen rams representing the main sheep breeds farmed in New Zealand come onto a tiered stage, a shearer shears a sheep in front of the audience, working dogs demonstrate heading and huntaway styles, and there is milking and lamb feeding with audience participation. It is unapologetically a show, aimed at visitors who will never otherwise see any of this, and it does a competent job of explaining what each breed is for and why the dogs work differently. The other half is a tractor-drawn tour of the working farm - sheep, deer, alpaca, cattle, kiwifruit and orchards - with feeding stops. New Zealanders raised on farms tend to find it obvious; almost everyone else learns something. Shows run to a fixed timetable, so arriving without checking means waiting.

History

The Agrodome was set up in 1971 by Godfrey Bowen, a world champion sheep shearer, and the local farmer George Harford, partly funded by the government as a tourism venture, with Bowen's brother Ivan as chief showman. It has been majority-owned by Ngāi Tahu Tourism since 2011, and the National Kiwi Hatchery opened here in December 2023 (Wikipedia, Agrodome).

What to look for

• The nineteen rams - each main breed named and explained.
• The shearing - done live, at working speed.
• The dogs - heading and huntaway styles, demonstrated apart.
• The farm tour - tractor ride through sheep, deer, alpaca and orchards.

When to go

Any season. Shows run at set times daily - check before arriving. The farm tour is outdoors and wet in rain.

Before you go

It is a staged show, not a working farm visit, and it is priced as an attraction. Audience participation is part of it. New Zealanders often find it too basic; overseas visitors generally do not.

Nearby

Rotorua is ten kilometres south; Skyline Rotorua is on the same hill.

Key facts