Lawson saddled up and raring to go with enthusiast and owner Penny King.

My experience of the Camelid family to date has been limited to a memorable, if uncomfortable trip across part of the Sahara. Despite their reputation I found camels in general, and my mount Rosy, to be charming animals.

Their ‘snootiness’ is quite clear – it is on a par with Geese, who have an ability to look down on every other species with complete and total disdain. I will never forget dismounting Rosy and taking time to massage and stroke her, and her great sad liquid eyes turned towards me as if to say, “no-one has ever done that to me before.” Her Arabic keeper remarked in French, “you are very gentle.” Well, I’m British…so I would be……

If you were to spend time analysing, or anthropomorphising the characteristics of the llama, it could be you would conclude it is something to do with the alignment of their heads.

They seem to look straight ahead – they don’t look straight at you, face to face, but they somehow seem to indicate that if you are close, you should really be distant. If they are not grazing, their stare is fixed on the far horizon. Perhaps this is the unnerving part to a novice – they don’t seem to be interested in you as a dog would. But as I was to find, they are most endearing, useful and stoic animals.

Furthermore, their charm begins with their voices. Correctly it is described as a ‘hum’, but it is the most delightful, subtle, and distinctive hum I think I have heard – it somehow seems to encapsulate the idea of a question mark in aural form.

I went to visit Penny King at her secluded property in the Waitakeres, where she keeps a small flock of llamas, and uses them as pack animals for treks.

“This didn’t start as a business,” Penny told me. “I saw a TV programme about llamas some years ago and was completely captivated by them. I actually phoned the Vet that afternoon to see if I could find one and take it for a walk.

“From that was born not a financial decision, but a completely irrational passion.”

Penny keeps 22 llamas and as she puts it, “the trekking business means it is now self-supporting.” She describes llamas as being more like dogs than horses, but with the big advantage they can carry a cargo of “no more than 20 kg”.

This may sound modest – in fact they can carry much more, but when a large, gourmet picnic is spread around there is certainly no need to over-burden them.

I asked why, if a large llama can carry very much more than 20 kg, people don’t ride them. “They were developed as pack animals, and their bone structure is different to horses,” Penny explained. “They could carry the weight, but not the shape. A load in panniers, carefully balanced is what they are good at.”

Llamas have other attributes. They are very low-maintenance, quick to learn and extremely stoic. In fact the last quality can be a disadvantage.

“They won’t complain, and if something is wrong, you may not notice until too late as a result. They are browsers – a bit like goats, but they need a low-protein diet, and thrive on even Kikuyu (that should make them highly popular in Northland). I may be being a bit mean, but throughout the winter I give them one bale of hay per day between 22 animals. Perhaps their biggest advantage, over sheep, is that they don’t need crutching! Also, they have specific areas they set aside for their toilet, which is very convenient.”