while New Zealand is famous for its epic scenery, it is also known for one fuzzy mammal: sheep.

driving through the countryside on our 3 week road trip afforded plenty of opportunity for sheep spotting. catching them on camera, however, proved to be a challenge. my friend and I soon made it a goal to achieve the perfect sheep shot. up close through a fence, or maybe with rolling hills and bales of hay in the background... but the sheep were not cooperative. time and again we were foiled. they were too far away, the grass was too tall, we couldn't get the right angle. until the day of our Hobbiton tour. as we were pulling out of the lot to make our way up to Whitianga, we encountered a pen of sheep right at the side of the road. we leapt out of the car, cameras in hand, excited to finally have the perfect opportunity. and the sheep ran away from us.

please take a moment to picture this scenario: me, standing with my camera on the side of a road, stomping my foot and yelling "damn it, come back here!" to a flock of sheep. there may have also been some "here, sheep-y sheep-ies!" uttered to try enticing them over to me. also, with no success.

are you laughing hysterically? because I am. thankfully I had better luck with the penguins, but there's a reason why most of my New Zealand photos are of mountains and plants: they don't move.
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