Lisa Browder

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear “alpacas?” I’ll wager most people think of luxurious, soft wool. Not me. I envision little miniature-looking camels traipsing around the cliffs of Machu Picchu. And in fact, alpacas are native to Peru. So with an animal that lives at very high altitudes, it was a bit surprising to find there are several alpaca farms in Florida.

I couldn’t resist. I booked my tour with LunaSea Alpaca Farm. If you say the farm’s name out loud, you get an insight (and the inside joke) into the decision to raise alpacas in Florida.

Once you enter the gates, the first things you see are an area where groups can hang out or cool off and still have a nice view of animals, and a cute little gift shop.

I was pretty sure I’d like the gift shop because, as I’ve pointed out before, I’m on a mission to clear out all the t-shirts I’ve been wearing for the past 20 years. I love buying new ones on my day trips. LunaSea’s gift shop had some lovely wools if you knit, ready-made scarves if you don’t, and yes, t-shirts. The owner’s daughter designed the alpaca face on the front and I loved it.

We were a small group of 5 so there was lots of hands-on time with the animals. LunaSea has 5 llamas and 40 alpacas. Our first introduction was Lily, the llama. Alpacas and llamas are part of the camel family and have no top teeth so they can’t bite. Their lips are prehensile and they’re very good at grasping things, evidenced by the mouth-to-mouth delivery system with the treats.

Like camels, llamas and alpacas have “knees.” It’s pretty funny to watch their ungainly rocking motion when sitting down or standing up. They drop to their knees in the front before lowering themselves down.

The animals at LunaSea are accustomed to human touch so they’re not as scared or shy as they might be in the wild. This is a very good thing because their defensive moves include spitting and kicking. I’m told the spitting is particularly disgusting. But hey, at least you can rule out biting.

So how do you tell them apart? The llamas are bigger animals, but if you happen upon one grazing on your grass and have nothing to compare it to, look at the ears. Llamas have distinctive banana-shaped ears. (Check out Lily’s close-up above).

LunaSea, like many farms, has a variety of wildlife running around and I love that. They have chickens, geese, ducks and two sandhill cranes. It was a very hot, humid day and I briefly considered joining the cranes in the wading pool.

This was an affordable, great way to spend a day and I recommend it. If interested, ask about their “painting with alpacas” sessions on weekends. I don’t see it listed on the website, but you can always give them a call.

• 18810 Lone Dove Lane, Clermont, Florida
• 352-223-9457
• lunaseaalpacafarm.com
• Open 7 days a week 10:30 AM – 4:00 PM
• $20 per person
• Wheelchair accessible