Ōmarama café and New Zealand wool shop on the Alps 2 Ocean trail, open daily 7am–4pm, with lamb bottle-feeding from August to November.
Stops within about 40 miles of The Wrinkly Rams. Collect a Lavender Passport stamp at each one.
The Wrinkly Rams sits on the Twizel–Ōmarama road in the Mackenzie Country, on the main route between Queenstown and Christchurch and right beside the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail. It is a café and gift shop built around the district's merino farming story, which the business traces back more than 180 years, and it makes a natural break on a long South Island drive.
The seasonal draw is lamb feeding. From August to November, the Southern Hemisphere spring, visitors can bottle-feed orphan lambs raised by hand, the ones farmers call bummer lambs. Sessions are booked through their website, so check times there before you set off. The rest of the year the café and shop are the reason to stop, and both open every day from 7am to 4pm.
The café sticks to classic Kiwi food: cooked breakfasts, oats and muesli, homemade pies, soups, lamb shanks, fresh scones and other baking, plus cabinet food, ice cream and smoothies. You can eat in or order takeaway ahead online, which suits cyclists on the trail. The shop stocks more than 180 New Zealand-made products, including merino and merino-possum clothing for adults and children, leather bags, pounamu and paua jewelry, sheepskin homeware, skin care and children's books.
New Zealand Alpine Lavender is on Mount Cook Road north of Twizel, roughly 40 minutes up State Highway 8. A coffee and lamb feeding in Ōmarama followed by a drive north for lavender ice cream and field photos during the farm's open season makes an easy Mackenzie day.
New Zealand Alpine Lavender · about 40 minutes away
Head north on State Highway 8 past Twizel to Mount Cook Road for lavender ice cream and field photos during the farm's open season.
Lamb feeding runs seasonally from August to November and is booked through their website.
Open every day from 7am to 4pm.
Yes. The café serves cooked breakfasts, pies, soups, lamb shanks and baking, to eat in or take away.
🗺️ Part of the guide Things to Do Near the Lavender Farms of Twizel & Lake Pūkaki, New Zealand
Checked in October 2026 against the business’s own website and local tourism pages. Hours and seasons change, so check with them before you go. How we check listings · Is this your business? Claim it free
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