We fell in love with this little historic town which was at the centre of the Ostrich boom in the late 1800's and early 1900's. At one point a pair of breeding Ostriches sold for 2100 Pounds - which was the equivalent of 360 bags of grain or 60 gallons of brandy! These were used for feathers which were all the rage. The sudden demand caused huge price spikes which made many locals millionaires that built really large estates and nice buildings before going bankrupt in the 1910's as the car rendered ladies hats obsolete!
Oudtshoorn is also famous for the Cango Caves which are the largest caves in Africa. We spent our first morning at the Caves which were spectacular. Jen and I have seen large caves in Puerto Rico and Hawaii but nothing like these. We opted to go on the "Adventure Tour" which was a 2 hour hike 1.2kms into the mountain and back through some very tight spots. With my busted wing, I didn't do them all but Jen, Shawn and Rachel did!
After the caves, we drove the Circle Route through Schwartzpass to Prince Albert. This is a 4 hour drive through some of the most stark and beautiful scenery we've seen yet on roads that made Monteverde seem like downtown Toronto. We really didn't know what to expect so were blown away with it. Once we got to Prince Albert, we had a nice light lunch (Scones and Clotted Cream) at a little bakery and then we continued on now on paved roads to a waterfall and swimming hole in the mountains before our return to Oudtschoorn. Again, we found out about the waterfall/hole by talking to the bakery owner and went a bit off the beaten track to find it. When we got there, we were the only ones there so we had it all to ourselves which was magical.
The next day, we decided to visit an Ostrich farm and to finish off the circle route by finding another waterfall we'd been told about. This one was very crowded and wasn't nearly as nice - no swimming in the pool below it either. The Ostrich farm was quite interesting as we got to see how they raised them and got to feed them, be kissed and hugged by them and then the kids got to ride them! It was a bit of a zoo but we wouldn't have missed it as we've seen these crazy birds all over Africa and wanted to know more about them - especially after tasting how good they are!
Apologies for all the pictures but this was a busy two days!
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| Cango Caves - The pipe organ |
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| Looks like some kind of alien art |
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| Cleopatra's Needle |
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| Some perspective on how big it is in there... they had 500 person concerts up until a few years ago! |
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| Just stunning! |
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| Not sure what I was smoking that day... a little tight for a big guy like me |
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| The letterbox (tightest passage on the adventure tour) |
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| Mom fits too! |
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| Yup, we got this way! |
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| A little tricky with a sore paw |
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| Overlooking the Schwartzpatz |
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| The other side of the Schwartzpatz (50' away) |
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| Yup, we're going down there in the Corolla |
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| Still holds his nose when he jumps! |
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| Both kids loved the waterfall and pool. It was very beautiful. |
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| OK! I'll tolerate the hug... just give me the damn pellets! |
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| Immediately after the "kiss" - more like a smash and grab! |
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| Shawn riding his first Ostrich - they taste better than they ride! |
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| Rachel did it too... notice the hood on the Ostrich? If they can't see, they don't think you are there! They really are dumb as dirt. |
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| And we're off! |
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| You is UGGGLLLYYY!!! |
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| Just like Rocco... completely food oriented! |
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| The other waterfall... no swimming here! |
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| Sitting on a rock in the bay |
Great shots. Keep them coming, especially the mountains. You must be getting your fill of the big animals...all except Shawn of course. Sunny, hi 0C 2day. PVR 4 week Mon-Mon. Our love to all, Mom & Dad
ReplyDeleteWow those caves are really cool! We went to a few in Cuba, but they looked nothing like those! The stalacites are amazing. Funny that you guys even attempted getting into those tight spots...what would you have done had you gotten stuck??
ReplyDeleteAlso really neat that Shawn and Rachel got to ride Ostriches. I thought that they were mean birds...what a cool experience. Something you'll never forget for sure! Great pictures, keep them coming:-) Love to all four of you!
Sarah, Rob and Jacob
Thanks Sarah... they had a lady get stuck in there a couple of years back. She got stuck in the one where it looks like I'm sitting in the narrow bit. She was a big lady and they'd warned her she was too big but her and her husband (especially) screamed discrimination at them and they let her tag along. When she got to that bit, she stayed back and let the group go on to the tighter bits and then she got it in her head to follow them through so she got past it and then got to the next bit where it was obvious she wasn't going through and returned (again on her own) only to get stuck blocking her husband and 13 others including the guide for 11 hours. They got some baby oil and lubed her up and she finally popped out. She was a bit sore and stiff but no worse for wear - except from the national scolding she got in the local papers about being too fat to have even attempt it! It was in the papers for weeks. That'll teach her for shouting discrimination!
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