@movernie
During our Port Hope, Ontario Press Trip, one of the sightseeing stops was the Haute Goat, as arranged by the Municipality of Port Hope and Tourism of Port Hope. It was about a 25-minute drive from our Summerhill Manor BnB. The drive to the Haute Goat had some bumpy roads and muddy paths but that’s ok coz we were driving the 2018 Mazda CX-9, a full-size SUV with AWD capabilities, courtesy from Mazda Canada, so our drive was not difficult and in fact, it was zoom zoom fun to drive as well.
After we arrived at the Haute Goat, we were greeted by a team of Haute Goat staff, including Debbie, along with her husband, Shain, are owners of this 200 acre of goat farm. Before we could stepped further into the forest and the farm, Debbie asked each individual to dip their shoes into some liquid sensitizer, this procedure was to prevent any potential foreign chemicals or particles that could be harmful to the farm animals on site. This was the 1st time I heard of the procedure but it was fun to do and for the benefit of the lovely animals, it’s an important process that I hope everyone who visited this farm or any farm to do.
It was a windy afternoon at Haute Farm and winter jacket and gloves and scarves were recommended. Although the farm is called “Haute Goat”, this doesn’t mean the farm only have goats. To my surprise, the farm has the cute, lovely alpacas. This elevated the experience for me as I totally didn’t anticipate any cute animals such as the alpacas on site. As Debbie explained to us, these alpacas are very easy to maintain and grow and they normally originated from South America, in cities such as Peru or Chile, places with high altitude.
We were granted access to walk into the barn and got up close and personal with the alpacas. They weren’t afraid of us humans, in fact, they were delighted to see us. We were given some food to feed to the alpacas, they ate fast and boom! The food on my hand went to their tummies so quickly!
After spending time with the alpacas, we went to another parts of the farm to check out the goats. Some individuals on the tour were asked to be volunteered to walk the goats on leashes. Some goats were walking on free range and just walked as a herd. I must say, these goats looked so cute and adorable. Walking as a big group with these animals were quite an experience. You can check out my video below on the gate “opening ceremony”, letting the goats out of the gates.
After a short 15-minute walk, we were asked to follow the goats into a small fenced area. At this spot, we were allowed to feed the goats. We could also see these goats climbing on wooden steps, playground and see them move around.
Additionally, as owner Debbie summed it up, she also called patting, hugging goats as “Shmurgle“. It was definitely relaxing cuddling with these furry goats and quite an unique experience.
After Shmurgling with the goats, we were invited to walk into the Haute House and apparently, they have a section that sells food and products that were made from alpacas wool or sheep milk or sheep wool. We got to try some of the goat cheese as well as testing out some hand cream made by Haute Goat. And best yet, I didn’t know Haute Goat has BnB service. For any goat lovers or farm animal lovers who wants to stay close to the Haute Goat Farm, check out its rates and availability for BnB. I would love to experience staying at Haute Goat in the near future. I always appreciate the farm scene, the open areas and the natural landscape especially I live at the heart of the downtown Toronto which are jam packed with human beings.
Furthermore, Haute Goat offers workshops such as “How to make goat cheese” or “Goat Yoga“. Click here to check out Haute Goat 2018 Workshop Schedule.
Haute Goat
Website: www.hautegoat.com
Address: 1166 5th line, Newtonville, ON L0A 1J0
Phone: (416) 402-8144
Want to know more about my press trip experience and adventures during my stay in Port Hope, Ontario? Follow my journey on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie).
Special thank you to the Municipality of Port Hope and Tourism of Port Hope for having us and for arranging the Haute Goat Tour during this press trip.
The Tour was provided by the Haute Goat. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.
