Shamarra Alpacas: Emirates cabin crew help boost tourist numbers

Shamarra Alpacas co-owner Anya Walkington on the Akaroa property. Photo / Grant Bradley

Anya and Frank Walkington fell in love with alpacas 20 years ago and have built a diversified business around them.

With a farm high on the hills with a commanding view of Akaroa Harbour, Anya Walkington says one part of the business is coming back strongly - and tourists and airline cabin crew are driving the recovery.

The herd of 170 adorable animals is a magnet for tourists, the core of Shamarra Alpacas’ business. That part of the business is now in recovery thanks to better international air connectivity into Christchurch, a 70km scenic drive away.

She says the business attracted 18,000 tourists a year before the pandemic, about 80 per cent of them from China. The China market has been slow to recover as that country opened up slowly. Still, there were encouraging signs of a recovery, one tour operator saying forward bookings this winter are strong.

China Southern Airlines and Cathay Pacific operated seasonal services into Christchurch and with more connectivity into Australia thanks to more Qantas flights later this year, dual-destination tourists from China will have more options to fly across the Tasman.

Walkington said the business also benefits directly from airline cabin crew. Emirates flies daily an Airbus A380 into Christchurch and a picture with an alpaca is a favourite among flight attendants who post to Instagram.

‘’They come out on the 11 o’clock tour and the gorgeous ladies want a selfie.’’

Chinese tourists at Shamarra Alpacas at Akaroa, near Christchurch. Photo / Estelle Sarney

A one-hour experience of being with the herd and feeding them costs $55 for adults and $30 for children. It is billed as an interactive tour “around the land of cute”.

China Travel Service managing director Lisa Li said farm tours were popular with Chinese visitors who liked cute animals such as alpacas and sheep and beautiful scenery.

They also wanted behind-the-scenes experiences on farms and meeting farmers. Group sizes had fallen since the pandemic and there were more free independent travellers (Fits) who were more intrepid, often stayed longer and spent more.

However, the big pre-Covid numbers when China was the second biggest source of visitors were some way away.

Other parts of the Shamarra operation are breeding the animals to sell and shearing them for fleece, one of the softest in the world. Each produces about 2kg a year and the yarn is spun and knitted into high-end, dye-free clothing, wraps and ponchos and blankets.

They are sold at the onsite shop and online. A big challenge is finding places in this country to have the fleece scoured and spun as animal fibre processors get more scarce.

Walkington said Shamarra had sold animals around the world.

Many were the progeny of Rising Sun, an 18-year-old stud alpaca which has sired about 250 offspring. Babies are know as cria.

“He was a game changer, his genetics are highly sought after in Europe. As you can see, he’s just delightful, highly lovable,” she said.

Alpacas are members of the camel family, domesticated in Peru 6000 years ago. They are ungulates, large-hooved mammals that include sheep and giraffes, with large bodies and legs and long necks. The world alpaca population is small, estimated around four million, nearly all found in South America.

Walkington said the herd was easy to look after and as cria were exposed to people at a young age, the naturally gentle animals were well-behaved around tourists.

Llamas, a close relative, are bigger and have been described as not as polite as alpacas.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.