Dave the Lamb on board the Port to Port Ferry with operator Rachel McGregor. Photo: Supplied
An Otago Harbour ferry has advertised an option for passengers to "add a sheep" to their ticket for more than two years as a joke, and Dave the lamb has been the first to take them up on the offer.
The Port to Port ferry goes from Port Chalmers to Portobello, and also offers wildlife cruises to see the albatross on Otago Peninsula.
Its passengers are usually tourists in the summer, or locals and New Zealanders who bring their bicycles on board so they can do the Harbour Loop.
Dave the Lamb on board the Port to Port Ferry. Photo: Supplied / Port to Port ferry
Port to Port ferry operator Rachel McGregor told RNZ Afternoons that when passengers book their tickets on the website, the options include bringing a bike or dog on board.
"And just as a joke, to see if anyone noticed, I added an option to bring a sheep.
"It was mostly to entertain myself really, and just see if anyone would notice, which they did."
She said it took a few weeks for anybody to notice the sheep option, and people always wanted to know if she was serious, so she did something about it on Saturday.
"I thought it was about time we had our first sheep, because we had a couple of people saying they were going to do it, but nobody has actually done it, and it has been a couple of years.
"So I contacted this person who is a former school mate of mine and asked her if she would like ot bring her sheep, which she did, a little lamb called Dave, who is very friendly, so he came across to Portobello and back again."
Dave the lamb is about five weeks old and had been rejected by its mother, so was living in a house like a pet.
"So it was actually very chilled around, it sniffed around, it had a little sleep at one point, it seemed to be pretty happy."
But McGregor said there was a small accident on board.
"The sheep was wearing a nappy, but being a male sheep it couldn't contain everything, so there was a little bit of wee on board, but it was pretty easy to hose off."
Now that a sheep had made the maiden voyage, McGregor said she had some ideas for more animal options.
"There's quite a few things on the list, you'll have to wait and see.
"I'm always up for a bit of fun."
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