South Africa: Oudtshoorn... Cavernous Cango and Ostrich Extravaganza

Next stop on the Garden Route whistle-stop tour took my friends and I to Oudtshoorn, famous for two things – the Cango Caves, and ostriches. As it turned out, my friend Hannah is rather obsessed with ostriches, and – despite doing very little general South Africa research – had put the hours in and knew a huge amount about the various farms in the area, and what each one offered. She’d spent most of the trip up to that point excitedly telling us all about the fun that was waiting for us in Oudtshoorn so it was with great anticipation that we pulled into the car park of Highgate Ostrich Farm - the farm Hannah had painstakingly researched and decided was the best bet for all our ostrich based needs.

Unfortunately, we discovered that Highgate was closed to visitors as they’d recently suffered a terrible bout of bird flu, and most of their birds had died. Hannah was gutted (all that research for a closed farm!) and although we all laughed at the irony of it, the situation was actually really very sad – not only had all of the ostriches died, but the workers at the farm who relied upon it for jobs and income were now really struggling. We all put our hands in our pockets and bought souvenirs in the gift shop, in the hope it would help in some small way as the farm tries to get back on its feet.


Back into “Craig” (our rental car, and now part of the family) and we headed to farm number two – Cango Ostrich Farm, which had luckily escaped the bird flu outbreak, and welcomed us onto their tour. Our guide was an enthusiastic lady called Geraldine, who knew everything there is to know about ostriches, and told us gleefully that they could rip a human chest open with their toenail (note to self: don’t anger an ostrich) and that the ostriches are at their most tasty when they’re male and 1 year old, which is when they’re sent to slaughter. That explained the truck full of youngsters we’d seen being transported along the N1 highway earlier in the week, at least...

Safe trip, boys...

Following Geraldine’s talk, she showed us into the farm to introduce us to a midget ostrich (kept separate from the others, who would identify it as inferior and go for it with those legendary toenails) and her “good friend Betsy” who was happy to be petted, and gave some of the girls ostrich style “hugs.”

Hannah and Betsy enjoy a cuddle

We were also taken to the riding pen, where several guests were brave enough to ride some of the larger ostriches (not cruel at all we were told, and they do have a weight limit to protect the ostriches) and although my “try everything once” mindset saw me climb aboard one of them, I stopped short of actually going for a ride as it felt very unstable (I have NO balance) and I’d been made to remove my glasses and couldn’t see! No thanks. Jenny and Nichola did have a ride though, much to the amusement of the rest of us, as they squealed their way around the pen before being unceremoniously unseated by their birds. Before we left we were asked to help feed the ostriches - mostly by hand, but I was also treated to the chance of a “neck massage” by one beast (Geraldine’s eyes glinted when she said that) who pecked for all it was worth at a bucket Geraldine handed me before getting me to back up against the bird’s fence.

I’ll be honest, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the ostrich farm tourist empire. It’s obviously a big income generator for the area, which can only be a good thing. However, I felt a little uneasy about the riding aspect of the trip, and the birds were obviously well used to the neck massage and hug tricks that were wheeled out, which made me question how fair it is of us humans to train up wild animals for our own entertainment. However, you could tell that Geraldine and her colleagues truly loved the birds at the farm, and I didn’t see any mistreatment. All in all, I’m glad I went, but it’s not an experience I’ll be repeating. I’m all ostriched out!


Our next stop was the Cango Caves, one of the natural wonders of South Africa. Jenny and I decided to sign up for the tour as we wanted to be sure to experience as much as we could while there, but the others – who had all been dragged round numerous cave based attractions by their parents growing up – decided to give it a miss and headed to the restaurant for an ostrich burger. We chose the standard tour rather than the adventure one, which involved squeezing through tiny holes, shimmying along narrow passages and navigating down slippery slopes designed for people with much better balance than I. The standard tour was still fantastic though, and the caves are a spectacular sight. My amateur photos don’t really do it justice...

We’d booked to stay that night at Amber Lagoon, a remote hostel somewhere between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp. We'd gone for the safari tent option, as that as an accommodation type we'd yet to try, and were excited to check out the facilities. Pulling up at Amber Lagoon we were greeted by Susan, the owner. She immediately insisted we grab a beer and head to the hill, to watch the sunset. It was a good move - the scenery from the hill was amazing, and watching the beautiful sunset with a cold beer was the best way to start the evening at Amber Lagoon.


Although remote (and initially a little “The Hills Have Eyes” unnerving!) Amber Lagoon was fantastic – there’s a bar, a swimming pool, perfectly fine bathroom facilities, and Susan and her staff cooked us the most amazing dinner of ostrich meat with veggies, pasta and lentils which we enjoyed in the outdoor seating area before retiring to our tents for the night. As the only person not to have shared a bed thus far in the trip, I got put in the middle of the 3 in a bed set up in one of the tents and spent a not so comfy night between Hannah and Jen. Love them as I do, sleeping on the mattress crack in such close proximity to their sleeping faces isn’t an experience I wish to repeat anytime soon!

Cosy.

In summary, Oudsthoorn was great. I think just the 1 night was enough, and it was definitely not too much of a squeeze to do the ostrich farm and Cango Caves in 1 day. We didn’t really explore the town itself, but I didn’t feel we missed out – the evening at Amber Lagoon was much more enjoyable than a night in a town centre hostel would have been, I think. I loved my time there, and waved it a fond farewell as we headed onwards to Mossel Bay (we would make it there eventually, no thanks to my dodgy navigating...)