A Southland man says he was happy to help a small flock of sheep trapped by rising waters near Mataura after he filmed them swimming across a flooded stopbank.
Phillip Joostens was out helping to lay sandbags along the swollen Mataura River on Wednesday when he noticed the flock looking a bit sheepish on the other side of the deep water.
"They certainly had nowhere to go," Mr Joostens told TVNZ 1's Breakfast.
"I just tried to coax them over and got calling, and sure enough after a few minutes one of the old ewes took the plunge and a couple of lambs followed.
"Once about half of them got over, I got the phone call that we had to get off the flood bank - they were worried that parts of it may burst - so I started walking away.
"When I looked back the whole lot of them had jumped in and swum to the other side."
Those in nearby Gore and Wyndham have been allowed back but are facing a big clean-up.
Mr Joostens, a sheap shearer of 25 years' experience, said it only took 10 minutes or so of coaxing to get them to swim to safety.
"I just called out, just like as a farmer would, I guess, when he opens a gate," he said.
"The sheep get used to being moved around a bit."
He said it was lucky the sheep didn't have more of a fleece on them, because longer wool severely affects their ability to swim even short distances.
"The more wool they've got on them, the harder it is," Mr Joostens said.
"If they've got longer wool, it really weighs them down and they can't get too far, but fortunately they don't have a full fleece on them so they weren't too bad.
"They all got over there and started bleating away."
Residents were forced to flee their properties in Gore, Mataura and Wyndham after days of rain.
Mr Joostens said his own property had also been affected by the flooding, with about two and a half feet of water remaining around his house today, despite easing rain.
"It's been an interesting few days, that's for sure."
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