This story should have been written some time ago when the facts were clearer, but here it is......

We hope to be able to be able to provide another perspective to interested breeders.
Some of our experiences and treks to part of Chile and Peru, where no white man has been before, have been recollected as best possible and are below.
Introduction to Alpaca Breeding;

One Sunday in early 1989 we were watching a program called Bourke’s Backyard at home, they did a short documentary on Alpaca, and from that we went to Darfield, near Christchurch, New Zealand where we met two men that we were to cross paths with many times over the years to come.

" Jolimont the first Importer to bring a large group of Alpaca to Australia in September 1989 "

Commencement of the adventures, (we didn’t know what was coming).

We went to New Zealand and bought approximately 100 Alpaca that were part of the original Agricola shipment that had recently arrived from Chile. Mr Brian Bassett Smith did the export quarantine near Timaru in the south Island.
For a number of years we bred from this group of Alpaca, at the same time researching the various aspects about alpaca exports from Peru.
In this the 1st of the larger groups to arrive in Australia from New Zealand, one of the males that stands out, in particular Jolimont Buster a good quality Black Male, even today. Buster’s influence is noted with his projeny still a cut above the rest , as the overall quality of blacks have become better since the first arrivals.

The second adventure

In 1992 we contacted a Chilean exporter who lived in Arica, the northern most city of Chile, of approximately 275,000 people. Arica is a very colorful city principally involved in fishing and tourism.
The Chilean Ultiplano has the indigenous, Aymara people that are very friendly to all visitors.

A Major Problem was averted with the help of our Dr David Banks AQIS, John Costello, Ms Babas and the rest of the Team with Pat sending troops down the rabbit warrens to conquer.  (A Term remembered by Dr Bill Sykes, recently).

In 1993 after the completion of the Chilean Quarantine, Pat went to Tahiti to wait for the arrival of the animals, a veterinarian for AQIS Dr Hugh Miller (now CVO, for Victoria) went to Arica to pick up the animals, wait for the cargo plane and take them to Cocos Island for the 90 Days Australian, Quarantine. 
The route planned for the plane to arrive at Cocos Island, was the long way around and commenced in Arica to Iquique (Chile) to Easter Island to Tahiti to Fiji to an Island called Biak, in Indonesia then finally to Cocos Island. The whole trip took in excess of 34Hrs.

The story:

As the plane arrived in Lima Peru (enroute to Arica) for a scheduled crew break, I was advised in Tahiti, that the landing permit for was revoked for the Fiji landing.
Now, we had the plane shortly to arrive in Lima, the animals waiting to leave Chile, with nowhere to go. I started on the phone to Chile first, then to AQIS Dr David Banks in Canberra Australia. The bush telegraph had already averted AQIS in Canberra that a problem was brewing for an Australian, importer of Alpaca. An Australia vet consulting in Apia, Western Samoa heard of the problem and called AQIS Canberra, (unbeknown to Pat, waiting in Tahiti)
At one stage the manager of the hotel came to the room as they could not get through to the room via the room phone, to say that the hotel wanted an advance against the phone bill. I had at that stage amassed a phone bill in excess of Aud$3,000.

Thanks to AQIS and our TEAM

As time passed (24 Hours and $6,500 later), I wasn’t advised of the outcome of the phone calls to and fro, involving AQIS Canberra, Arica Chile, SAG Chile, Tahiti, Western Samoa, Minister of Agriculture Fiji, Ms Babas in Fiji and a number of other people and locations.
At a very late hour that morning, I had come to a realization that we had failed, that the animals would stay in Arica Chile, and we would lose all the invested money to date. Very early that morning I received a call from Mr John Costello (our air charter broker) the animals were loaded and they were departing Arica, Chile.  “Oh didn’t they tell you we were ok to depart Chile”
I could not say a word. I hung the phone up and sat on the bed with the thought of not having to go to confession, for a deed I had thought about.
The plane took off from Arica 14 Hours after the scheduled departure, and flew the route to Cocos Island without any mishap’s.
I went and brought a case of Dom Perignon for “the Team”, and went to the airport to wait for our plane to arrive. In my haste to leave, I lost a beautiful black pearl I had brought for Rosa, the lady that has stood beside me since 1975.

The Plane Leaves Tahiti

During the flight I learned about the countless hours spent by Dr Banks convincing the Minister from the Department of Agriculture in Fiji, and an Australia lady named Angelica Babas, (an associate of John Costello) who, coincidentally was in Fiji at the time of problem. Angelica went to the Ministers private residence late at night to twist his arm to allow the plane to land, refuel and then depart again.
After the quarantine period the animals left Cocos Island bound for our farm in Lancefield.

The Third Adventure with friends and associates.

In early 1992 Pat went to the Peruvian Ultiplano to commence the people, (breeders) finding venture, later that year Dr Dennis Ryan and (an ex AQIS vet) Dr Ian Davis went to Peru to evaluate the possibilities of an export from Peru to Australia. This was fraught with difficulty as foot and mouth disease was present in the greater part of northern Peru, including some of the mountain areas.
After the return to Australia and a great deal of discussion with Dr Davis and Dr Ryan, Rosa and Pat decided to bring a group of animals from Peru. An easy decision, but no one knew the risks and the mountain of work needed to make the venture a success

So we began;

The team assembled by Jolimont Alpaca, Pat and Rosa Viceconte consisted of the following disease and veterinarian specialists.

Our Team of Experts

Dr Tony Forman a world recognized authority and specialist on exotic disease.  Dr Ian Davis vet and formerly AQIS Manager of Imports in Canberra, Dr Dennis Ryan veterinarian and Alpaca expert and Dr Bill Sykes specialist veterinarian and disease consultant. 
Dr Jane Vaughan veterinarian was introduced to us by Dr Ryan, and was selected to head the management and team of employees, looking after the animals in Cocos Island for twelve months.
On speaking with Jane the other day, I asked her to tell me what she thought about the 12 months on Cocos Island 

The Route

The animals went to Cocos Island via a different route this time the route was Tacna (Peru) to Iquique (Chile) to Buenos Aires (Argentina) to Cape Town (South Africa) to Canary Islands to Cocos Island.
The Plane did a second round trip from Tacna Peru to Cocos Island, as there were 660 Adults and a number of cria

The first Leg

The first leg with Dr Jane Vaughan, the AQIS vet Dr ::::    started off ok, after the plane had left Tacna one of the engines cut out at 36,000 feet. So the crew did the standard thing reduced height to 24,000 feet and decided to keep going to Buenos Aires. On landing in Argentina they realized that the fuel was contaminated with water, (luckily) none of the other engines stopped, due to water freezing in the fuel lines.

The second leg went according to plan.

So the animals arrived in Cocos Island enroute to Australia.
No one new at the start but the Twelve months was certainly going to have a toll on the whole group of animals. As time passed we found out that Alpaca are not able to stand humid conditions for too long a period, without having adverse effects on any group. The whole exercise proved to be testing on not only the animals but also the humans looking after them.
Some of the logistical problems we had, moving 20 Tonne’s of feed every week for one year from Perth to Cocos Island, ensuring all medications were available as needed, testing, reporting and managing the various health problems, regularly.
The Twelve harrowing months eventually passed and we went to collect the animals.

We had no Insurance for a category 5 cyclone, what a holiday!

With the excitement of the shipment we decided to have a break, and as a family Rosa, Pat, Damian, and Ben, and a number of other Alpaca breeders all went to Cocos Island to bring the Alpaca home to Lancefield and complete the dream. First stop was Perth for a few days, the on to Cocos Island.
On arrival in Cocos Island everything had been made ready to move the Alpaca to the mainland, but now the next few days were full of eat drink and be merry. All was going too well, but things started to change soon after arrival, the day before the departure, we were hit with the bad news, a category 5 cyclone is heading this way. A Senior AQIS officer says, in the event the cyclone gets closer to us, we are to spend the night in the pub. The building built to protect the humans, (the pub) the foundations of the pub were 12 feet thick, built into the corral and plenty of beer.
The animal’s shelters were all cyclone proof ( thanks to the Australian Government) and Jane and the boys went about their business of making sure all the animals were locked away and secure for the coming winds.  Late that night we retired and went to bed, during the night (with Italian superstition) Pat dreamt about this cyclone, (a monster) and that he was on top of it steering the monster out to sea.  In the early morning on this beautiful coral atoll, Cocos Island we were told that the cyclone had headed out to sea and that it was heading towards Madagascar.
The plane arrived after blowing a tyre enroute to Cocos Island with and unlikely bunch on board. The plane returned twice to Cocos Island to pick up all the animals and the humans. We all then left the island behind with the animals to start a new life.
Jane stayed behind to spend some time fishing and snorkeling.
The Alpaca arrived in Lancefield, from Cocos Island on the 24th January 1997. This import went on to be the most influential group of alpaca breeding that has ever been imported to Australia. The animals with Jolimont in the background are winning shows today.

Brief History

The arrival of the Conquistadors in Peru in the year 1531, created devastation for the Incan people, decimated the majority of the alpaca breeders, forcing the moving of Alpaca’s to the mountain areas.  
History says that a large number of the animals that were destroyed had better fleeces than the animals in Peru, of today. Since the conquistadors the animals have not had much in the way of a structured breeding program, therefore resulting in the crossing of the various cousins of the alpaca.
In my opinion, if one were to make a comparison of the larger breeders in Peru, the one that stands out with the better management programs, is Allianza.

The best Breeder in Peru

The best Alpaca breeder in Peru, which has in excess of 75 years of controlled Alpaca breeding, is Accoyo, created by the Barredda family. Accoyo has had the most influence on Alpaca breeding, in Australia and likely the world.
Of all the Western breeders (gringo’s) that have visited Accoyo over the years, Rosa and Pat are the breeders that have managed to obtain the males that have had a fantastic influence on the quality of Alpaca in Australia.
A number of breeders have been to Accoyo over the years and thought they had seen the best, but like all of the us, (with the best in the back paddock) the better animals just appear out of the closet.

Resume of activity

Since 1997, we have also sent Alpaca from Australia to Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, and New Zealand.
From January 2002 we sent around 1,500 alpaca from Peru and Chile to, Australia, Switzerland, UK, and Italy.

The Best Male Lineup in Australia.

The Australian Alpaca Association Database has recorded that we have bred 202 (Active) registered Males since we commenced with the Peruvian’s in 1996.
This group of Males with many thousands of recorded projeny would have to be the best lineup of males created by any one breeder.
They have had a remarkable impact on the quality of the Australian Alpaca herd.  To name a few (because there are too many) the Males that have made their mark at Jolimont Alpaca are:

Jolimont Conquistador          Jolimont Sculptor
Jolimont Commissario          Jolimont Warrior
Jolimont Sculptor 2              Jolimont Centauri
Jolimont Miquel                               Jolimont Diodoro            
Jolimont Alessio                 Jolimont Kentor
Jolimont Antares                     Jolimont Trovalletto
Jolimont Attitude               Jolimont Cassius
Jolimont Bravo                    Jolimont Calibre

          
FRIENDS – BREEDERS-ASSOCIATES

We wish to thank the large number of Alpaca breeders / clients / friends that have purchased animals from us, that have travelled and enjoyed the adventures to the Peruvian and Chilean Ultiplano over the years, to name a few.
Matthew and Cathy Lloyd                           - E P Cambridge Alpaca Stud in Balhannah South Australia
Mrs Joy Whitehead                                        - Bozedown  Alpacas Whitchurch, on Thames, Reding U.K.
Mr David and Mrs Therese Badcock        - Serena Lodge Alpacas- Stowport Tasmania
Mrs Angela and Mr Ian Preuss                  - Surilana Alpacas- Strathbogie Victoria
Mrs Narelle and Mr Peter Tulip                 -Hunter Alpaca Stud- Maitland N.S.W
To a number of other breeders THANK YOU for your continued support.  
And the adventure continues with a special group of Huacaya Alpaca for Jolimont in Australia.

In September 2005 Jolimont imported the current herd of Alpaca currently in Lancefield for its own breeding program from Peru. As we have found when assembling any group of animals there are always the Top quality, and then the best the vendor/breeders will present for any selector.  The key to success (selecting good quality animals) is to be as hard as possible and consistent on the criterion set for the selection of the whole herd.

One of many Highlights:

It was raining heavily, and then we saw the car on the side of the bumpy road on the way to Nunoa, in the back of a small station wagon car were;
Also included in this gathering of animals were some of the best Suri’s that we have encountered since the previous shipments. Mr ROMEO GUTIERREZ CAYO is one of the breeders that supplied the better Suri’s, he has his property from the Nunoa area in Southern Puno, (where the best Suri’s are bred) nearly all of the better Suri’s were eventually purchased by Angela and Ian Preuss of Surilana.  
The best Males in this gathering of animals.
Three of the following animals stand out as breeders,

Two white males

Jolimont Rodrigo a Champion many times over and
Jolimont Reagan also a Champion Three times in Australia, and a black Male
Jolimont Rowan they have now created some excellent quality offspring.
These alpaca have created a number of female cria with outstanding features, and form the nucleus of the herd for us to go on to breed with.  Rodrigo and Reagan have been exported to the UK. Rowan has also been sold.

Pat and Hernan Selection in 2004 to 2005.

Pat says: In my view, amongst this group we have imported around 100 of some of the best breeding females ever selected for exportation from Peru.

Neil Parker senior Breeding advisor to SRS assesses our herd in September 2008.

This group of Alpaca was assessed by the SRS in 2006 and in 2008 by SRS breeding advisor Neil Parker, SRS’s most experienced advisor says “this group of females I consider to be some of the best fibre producing animals in the country. The quality of this herd is such that they rank very highly, amongst the best herds in Australia”.

Shearing and micron for the year 2007 to 2008 of the Jolimont Herd
Ages

The oldest animal tested was 13 years of age, with a fleece micron of 22.
35% of the herd is over 5 years of age
18% of the herd is over 3 years of age.
28% of the herd is over 2 years of age.
19% of the herd is over 1 year of age.

Fleece Weights.
The average fleece weights for the year ended 2008 was 1.6 Kgs.
The heaviest Weight for a skirted saddle was 2.9Kgs with 65 animals producing 2Kg or more.

Average Micron

The average micron achieved for the 2007 and 2008 shearing seasons, for the herd was 24.2
The lowest was                                                       16.5 micron
50% of the herd was under                                      24      “
30%   “    “     “       “      “                                      26      “
11%   “     “     “       “   between                             26 and 30 micron
9% of the herd was greater than                              30      “     mainly coloured animals.

Late last year we imported a number of high quality Males that is hoped, should carry on the genetic diversification that is necessary/required to continue to improve the quality here at Jolimont Alpaca and from the Jolimont farm to as many breeders that want to join the dream.      
The Team of breeding Males, at Lancefield.
Our Black Males;

Jolimont Ulises,                Jolimont Mochicor and                 Jolimont Turpial.  
These three males are amongst the best blacks to ever be imported, consideration being given to the following points:
Conformation, Age, Fine micron, Density, fleece type, crimp, and lack of medulation. A select few black breeders have been able to use these quality males to advance their herd.

Our Grey Male

Jolimont Tiberio
A very fine and soft handling fleece, a Grey male that has retained his fibre micron, since coming to Australia.

Our team of White Males;

Jolimont Galant Tocayo,                Jolimont Shere Khan,     Jolimont Tucapel
Jolimont Vulcano,                         Jolimont Galan,             Jolimont Orion

We are of the opinion that these males represent some of the strongest gene to have come to Australia. This year should be an exciting year for Jolimont Alpaca as the cria from these exceptional males should start to arrive from September onwards.

We hope the year 2009 to be a good year for all Alpaca breeders and all others alike.