Alpaca Adventures

It’s that time again where I reprimand myself for not blogging enough and promise myself I will find the hours to blog more in future. There’s so much I want to get down so I can look back and appreciate the memories in years to come.

A couple of months ago I turned thirty-one. The build up to turning thirty seemed to go on forever yet suddenly thirty is already history. I always wondered when I would feel like a grown-up and I think thirty-one is the age. I don’t know how to explain it, I feel I hold myself slightly differently now. I feel more mature and dare I say wise. Saying all of that this year for my birthday I spent it feeding baby alpacas, hardly the most adult thing to do in the world, but it was a fabulous experience.

The more birthdays you have, the harder it gets deciding what to do. Then when you are visually impaired certain activities are ruled out like escape rooms, laser quest, go carting and paintballing for their lack of accessibility. I would love to try them all if I could. Going out for meals and to the cinema is nice, but they don’t always feel special. Deciding to feed baby alpacas was very last minute and something I thought the other half would enjoy as he is a massive animal lover. I didn’t think of myself so much. It would just give me something a bit different to do on my birthday.

There has been a lot in the press in recent months about the interaction between humans and wild animals. Swimming with dolphins, riding elephants and stroking lions are becoming frowned upon, as we are becoming more aware of the cruelty behind the scenes or the impact it has on their natural state. I don’t know if feeding baby alpacas is deemed ethical. However, I went to a lovely alpaca farm where the animals seemed to be well taken care of.

I have to stress I keep writing baby alpacas as it is quite significant. I didn’t sign up to feed adult alpacas, I was going to feed baby alpacas. Before the experience started we had a little health and safety brief as we would be entering the alpaca enclosure. They explained how to approach, feed and respect them. I asked my boyfriend how big a new born alpaca was and he told me they were knee height. You can picture my surprise then when we entered the enclosure and one casually nudged me on the shoulder! Apparently baby alpacas grow up super-fast. They were definitely all at least five foot in height and before anyone panics, the mums were in the enclosure too.

I like to put myself in situations outside of my comfort zone even if it means I am scared silly. So yes after learning how big baby alpacas actually are, I spent quite a lot of time gasping and generally being a wimp. Nevertheless, I did put my big girl knickers on and gradually relaxed. The animals were friendly in nature and eagerly ate the food from your hand. Their fur was extremely soft to the touch, a texture so unique.

I can’t recall seeing an alpaca when I had useful vision. Having the opportunity to interact with them allowed me to create an image in my mind’s eye, one I never would have truly got if someone was simply describing. Whilst I wouldn’t recommend all animal experiences for ethical reasons, if you are visually impaired and you get the chance to get up close and personal with an animal, go for it, enjoy it and treasure it.