Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn is the world capital of the Ostrich! It is believed to be named after one of the directors of the Dutch East India Company, and later governor of the Cape, Baron van Reede van Oudtshoorn who lived at the Cape during the eighteenth century, and who died at sea. During the heyday of the Victorian ostrich feather boom, which lasted up until 1914, the ostrich was being hunted to the verge of extinction. And then, in the 1870s, experiments were undertaken in the Oudtshoorn area to domesticate the largest flightless bird in Nature.
The result was the growth of the ostrich industry. The feathers were plucked, baled and sent to Port Elizabeth where they were auctioned in the Feathermarket Hall, prior to export to Europe and North America. The farmers waxed fat and prosperous on this trade and built opulent houses termed Ostrich Palaces by the less charitable. Ostriches thrive in dry, sandy conditions and Oudtshoorn is an ideal habitat. The Male ostrich has the larger, jet-black plumes while the female, for reasons of daylight camouflage, has the shorter, dull grey-brown plumes used in feather dusters. The ostrich egg, equivalent to 24 hens' eggs, makes for a substantial meal! The skin of the ostrich makes for most desirable leather, mostly tanned in Italy, while the meat is largely cholesterol-free. All ladies are agreed that their eyelashes are to die for! The ostrich, which has a small brain, but large eyes, 'thinks with its eyes' so to speak. They are notorious for snatching any bright, shiny object such as, spectacles, jewellery, watches, beer tins etc. from their unsuspecting owners. Another good reason for not getting too close to the ostrich is the vicious kick, which, if properly aimed, can kill a man. A tour will be made to an ostrich farm for a closer look at these fascinating birds.
Twenty kilometres north of Oudtshoorn are the Kango Caves; an impressive system of limestone caves stretching 3kms underground first discovered in 1780. The Grand Hall is 107 metres long with stalactites and stalagmites in abundance.
The result was the growth of the ostrich industry. The feathers were plucked, baled and sent to Port Elizabeth where they were auctioned in the Feathermarket Hall, prior to export to Europe and North America. The farmers waxed fat and prosperous on this trade and built opulent houses termed Ostrich Palaces by the less charitable. Ostriches thrive in dry, sandy conditions and Oudtshoorn is an ideal habitat. The Male ostrich has the larger, jet-black plumes while the female, for reasons of daylight camouflage, has the shorter, dull grey-brown plumes used in feather dusters. The ostrich egg, equivalent to 24 hens' eggs, makes for a substantial meal! The skin of the ostrich makes for most desirable leather, mostly tanned in Italy, while the meat is largely cholesterol-free. All ladies are agreed that their eyelashes are to die for! The ostrich, which has a small brain, but large eyes, 'thinks with its eyes' so to speak. They are notorious for snatching any bright, shiny object such as, spectacles, jewellery, watches, beer tins etc. from their unsuspecting owners. Another good reason for not getting too close to the ostrich is the vicious kick, which, if properly aimed, can kill a man. A tour will be made to an ostrich farm for a closer look at these fascinating birds.
Twenty kilometres north of Oudtshoorn are the Kango Caves; an impressive system of limestone caves stretching 3kms underground first discovered in 1780. The Grand Hall is 107 metres long with stalactites and stalagmites in abundance.
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