Mike and Sammy were locum vets in our Winton team this spring. They share their experience of vetting in Southland, New Zealand. Special thanks to our wonderful clients who are so welcoming to our team members, whether they’re here permanently or just for a short while.
Farmers around the world talk about the New Zealand dairy industry being the best, in terms of feed efficiency, pasture utilisation, and quality of production. Interestingly, it also has a dairy cow to person ratio of 1:1.
So, New Zealand was really intriguing to two vets from Australia, eager to jump across the ditch and see what all the excitement was all about. And what better way to experience the industry and the incredible landscapes than to come to Southland!
We had just spent the last year travelling and locuming in the UK (temporarily filling in at vet clinics short-term where needed). For our next adventure, we wanted to look a bit closer to home, and Winton, NZ, ticked all the boxes. We arrived for the 2025 calving season and were warmly embraced by VetSouth.
Although a team of over 20 veterinarians can seem daunting, the Winton vets were far from it. Everyone was so kind and welcoming, and the entire crew at VetSouth Winton work together like a big family. It’s very rare to have such a large team, with so many wonderful people from all around the world.
Our calving season brought many types of calvings: caesareans, head-back, breech, schistosome, leg-back – some alive or freshly dead, others a bit smelly. There were thousands of calves disbudded, thousands of cows metrichecked, uterine prolapses replaced, infected eyes removed, wounds sutured, and even a few lambings thrown in the mix. Over the busy calving period, VetSouth’s amazing vet technician team is invaluable. Working alongside them made the routine work efficient, simple, and even fun!
In the downtime, many of the senior vets would run in-house talks and practical workshops, some for clients and some to grow the skills of the vet team. These were on all sorts of subjects, from calving tips and tricks to nutrition and reproduction planning. We've come away with plenty of new techniques and knowledge that we’ll take with us into future work.
We lived in a farmhouse just outside of Winton, nestled amongst lambing paddocks. The transition from winter to spring saw many lambs zoom along fencelines, cherry blossoms bloom, and the notorious Southland weather set in. A bit of rain and wind never hurt anyone though!
Winton is a great location near mountains, coast, and the world-famous Fiordland (with its iconic Milford Sound). It’s a friendly rural community with a great coffee spot, scenic walking/running track, and all the necessities. The vet clinic really is the heart of the town, servicing hundreds of dairy farms, as well as tending to sheep, deer, pigs, goats, horses, dogs, cats… all creatures great and small.
Weekends were even more full on than working weeks! With never-ending suggestions of activities from the team to make the most of the countryside, our weekends were always busy. Multiple ski days were had, trying out all of the ski fields around Queenstown and Wanaka – an easy day trip from Winton. When the weather warmed up, hiking was on the agenda. We explored awe-inspiring scenery in Fiordland, the Catlins, and across on Stewart Island, as well as many local spots that were hidden gems.
If you’re looking for an adventure like no other, then look no further. VetSouth has it all: a great team, interesting dairy work, and extraordinary scenery!
