By now it should be obvious how much I love animals. I would say it’s a defining characteristic. (I wish I could say the same for babies.) I kind of turn into a 6-year-old at the sight of cuddly creature of any size. It’s so fluffy!

As we wrapped up our 9-day trek of  New Zealand, we rolled through Kaikoura. We intended to go whale watching, but instead stuffed ourselves with out-of-this-world Indian food and crashed for the night. Then I woke up to these mountains. There’s nothing like sliding open the window in your toasty bunk, inhaling a crisp breeze, seeing this view, and realizing you’re living Life on the Road. 

Having sped towards Seal Point the first night and arrived just as the sun completely faded from the sky, I was glad to venture back the next day to watch these animated creatures at play.

Finding a farm park with llamas became one of the highlights of our expedition. I can’t remember ever seeing llamas but I was instantly reminded of that flying alpaca in “The Neverending Story” or George Lucas’ trusty ice planet tauntauns. I felt like I was looking at a mythical creature. We fed them, petted them, and yes, kissed them. They were elegant and reserved; cautious but friendly.

For the record, this is an alpaca, which is smaller than a llama

I’m kissy-facing a couple of friendly llamas

Photography by Tim & Jessica Peterson

Jacket: Steve Madden via TJ Maxx

Sunglasses: Target

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