On Kabi Kabi Country as the days get warmer and the staghorn ferns start to spawn, we know that the lungfish (Dala in Kabi Kabi language) are also laying their eggs in the Mary River, a time to leave these magnificent ancient fish to reproduce to sustain future generations.
At this time of year at Marrapatta, the temperatures are warming up, so it is time to shear the alpacas. The Marrapatta Seniors for 7.8, Evie Kolff van Oosterwijk (10M), Caitlin Small (10R), and Sienna Thorpe (10E), eagerly volunteered their morning time to assist Ms Wood and Mr Dunmore to round up the alpacas ready for our local shearer to arrive. While the alpacas were not particularly cooperative at first, we slowly developed a system to gently encourage them down into their shearing pen. Our shearer, Mr Bird, made short work of the alpaca haircut and they were soon free to roam around their paddock, ready for the hot summer ahead. Did you know alpacas have fleece, not wool, and if you look at the fibre under a microscope it looks like the scales of a fish, making it flame resistant and waterproof? Alpaca fleece is used in making clothing and is said to be three times warmer and seven times stronger than sheep wool. To round off the alpaca facts for the family Christmas trivia, the alpaca is the smallest member of the camel family, and a baby alpaca is called a Cria.
