"I arrived with my parents in New Zealand on the 27th of November 2003. We were visiting my sister and brother in law in Auckland; it was my second visit in two years. It's a beautiful country; it reminds me very much of Wales with its lavish greenery and many mountains, there's also plenty of rain.
During this visit we were lucky enough to the South Island and this really is a beautiful part of the country. The wildlife in New Zealand is wonderful and while we were in Queens Town we had the opportunity to go into some mountains known as the Remarkables.
There is a park where animals are allowed to roam freely and members of the public are encouraged to feed them with food they provided. It was amazing to be able to get close to buffalo, stags, sheep and goats.
I was sitting in the back seat of our car, because the ground on the mountain was too uneven for a wheelchair when suddenly I noticed one of the goats was watching me. He had an inquisitive look in his eye as he walked towards the car. He sauntered over, walking straight past my sister who had a bucket of food and climbed onto the back seat beside me. I had visions of him chewing the front seat of the hirecar and I thought I was going to get head-butted. But instead he let me stroke him and sat beside me for a while.
I don't know what made him come over to me. Maybe he thought I had a friendly face. Or perhaps he liked the colour of my shirt. All I do know is that I definitely found myself a new friend that day."
(Sound of goat bleating).
Sonia Jones.
