Woodstock Station

An awesome day for exploring......But it was hard to choose.

Hubby and I headed inland towards the snow covered mountains, the sky was bright blue with puffy white clouds and the pasture was bright green and lush, in places, and boggy in other places.  The mountains looked magnificent and it was very hard not to blip them.

We came across Woodstock Station, lying on the middle reaches of the Waimakariri River valley west of Oxford in Canterbury, New Zealand.  The station is adjacent to the Oxford State Forest.

Back in the 1890s Merino sheep were introduced to the station, a time when there was little fencing.  Escapees were therefore easily able to establish themselves as a feral flock in the indigenous forest as well as the tussock grasslands.  They have become a rare breed of New Zealand origin called Woodstock Sheep.

In the 1970s they were considered to be of little significance and were amoung those tagged for eradication by the Deaprtment of Conservation.  However, a more recent awareness of the potential importance of feral flocks of early origin has resulted in a renewed interest in the Woodstock sheep.

Over the past few years a number of these animals have been recovered and are being bred on Woodstock Station.

This is the old entrance to the station with the rustic old wagon and the stone fence.  The driveway meanders up the hills and through the trees.  The view overlooks the Waimakariri River and the mountains of the Torless Range.

We had a great road trip :)