My Isle of Wight Adventures Part II: West Wight Alpacas

Hey everyone! As promised, here is part II of our visit to the beautiful Isle of Wight. If you've missed part I please click on the hyperlink to see what the town of Shanklin looks like. If you adore animals then you would swoon in this article as I am going to show you around West Wight Alpacas and Llamas! The home of the cute and the fluffy!

West Wight Alpacas and Llamas was opened back in 2010 and is owned an run by a couple named Neil and Michelle Payne. It started out just as a hobby which then blossomed into a thriving family business and tourist attraction. Initially the couple bought 11 alpacas, five of them were pregnant. Now it has become home to over 60 alpacas, some llamas, and other animals. The farm ethos revolves around impeccable animal welfare and bio security standards, and also, sustainable means of breeding alpacas for fibre and luxurious fleece, which is very widely known globally.

When I was googling things to do in the Isle of Wight, this farm came up and without hesitation I grabbed the opportunity to visit it as I have never seen a real alpaca in person. My friend Andrea was also very keen to visit so we hopped on a bus to the Village of Wellow. The farm is in the middle of nowhere and this is the only attraction onsite.

Before we were allowed to see and walk the alpacas, we had some refreshments at the cafe first as the bus trip left us parched and also we arrived earlier than our scheduled alpaca walk. After some cooler, we decided to check out the petting farm as we had time before our walk . So many cute farm animals within reach.

After the patient wait, our group was called in. And we were introduced to the walking alpacas by our walking leader. These alpacas are trained to walk with people and are sort of friendly. Well at least they have a friendlier disposition than the llamas. Most of the walking alpacas were white with the exception of the one I got which was brown. I have always been timid and shy but when the walking leader asked who wants to walk the brown one I raised my hand assertively. That was a proud moment for me.

Before we were allowed to walk them, the guide gave us short lessons regarding our walk partner. He told us how llamas and alpacas both come from the camelid breed which makes them close cousins of the camels. He told us about the difference between a llamas and alpacas too as they are often interchanged. Aside from the difference in temperament, they are different size-wise as well. Llamas are larger than alpacas. Llamas have banana shaped ears and longer faces, whilst alpacas have shorter ears and smooshed faces. Also, alpacas have longer and finer hair whilst llamas have coarse wool.

Our instructor also taught us how to walk the alpacas and how to hold the lead. First we must use two hands. One close to the face to help direct the alpacas' focus and one on the farther end as a security measure in case the animal decides to pull. We were warned not to establish direct eye contact as this can be a sign of confrontation and alpacas may spit on us. That terrified me a bit, a lot actually 😂.

We were also told to establish dominance by not being scared to tug and direct the alpacas to where we want them to be as if we don't we might end up babysitting it as it continuously poos/ pees to mark its territory or as it snacks along the bushes along the way. Another lesson was not to allow them to interact with the opposite gender as when they get rejected they spit on them or they get spat on too 😂.

The walk took 30-40 minutes to finish. We passed by the birthing fields and saw some baby alpacas along the way too. It was actually a long walk and the sun was killing us but we were all smiles to be able to walk alongside such amazing creatures. Happy to report, I came out unscathed and spit free.

We then head on to the gift shop to get ourselves some alpaca themed T-shirts for souvenir and one I still use to this day. That's the end of this article. Please let me know what you think about this and see you on the next one. Cheers! ❤️