Alpaca walks at Lake Achensee
Big round eyes peering curiously out from under tousled, velvety fur and a gentle and calm personality that emanates all the peace in the world - who could not be delighted by alpacas? Liesa probably thought so too, and now she keeps eleven "Achensee Alpacas" on her farm and offers guided alpaca walks in the region.
Walking companions for the whole family
Last summer, Liesa began to offer guided walks with the Achensee alpacas. The idea of breeding alpacas was born out of family interest. “On the one hand, my husband and I had the space on our farm and on the other, we wanted to keep animals for our children. Rather quickly we decided on alpacas. We immediately liked their calm and gentle personality and of course their big round eyes,” Liesa explains. After the alpacas were halter trained and more and more visitors got interested, the family decided to offer alpaca walking. "We do a maximum of two walks per day in small groups. Our animals are very well accustomed to children, which makes them the perfect walking companions for the whole family," says Liesa.
Before the walk, groups meet in the stable for a brief introduction and to get to know each other. Then it's time to set off: We walk the alpacas in single file along a panoramic path which mostly leads through forest. The alpacas decide according to rank which one leads the group, and which one goes last. In other words, the leader of the herd goes first together with his human companion. During the walk, there is ample time to explore the surroundings alongside your woolly new friend. Liesa will also answer any questions you may have about the keeping, care and character of the animals.
Precious wool
Back at the farm, young visitors in particular are invited to meet the other animals in the farm’s petting zoo. Besides alpacas, there are also dwarf goats and rabbits. In the future, there will also be a shop selling products made of alpaca wool. The animals are sheared once a year - similar to sheep. Alpaca wool is of very high quality due to its fine structure, the pleasant feeling on the skin and its thermoregulating properties and is used for knitwear, but also for filling duvets.
