Kathy’s Travels

Moving away from the wonderful coast and into the Klein Karoo / Little Karoo…. home of South Africa’s ostrich industry.

Backpackers Paradise: 9.5/10 the -.5 is for the very flat pillows….. But if that is the only complaint then thats pretty good. The beds really are EXTRA wide and comfortable. The ostrich braai is ever so tasty, but don’t forget the vegetarian option. The staff are very friendly and helpful and Moses the shuttle driver knows everything.

My first day saw me doing the adventure tour in the Cango Caves. I can officially climb a chimney and be mailed through a postbox that is 27cm by 30cm. Our first major challenge was the “Chimney”, a tiny space that goes almost vertical and is so small you can’t even turn around. The guide sent us ahead and when we reached what we thought was the right hole we shoved the first girl up then hesitated. She waited up there for a full 5min as we discussed if this was the right route. When the guide arrived we said in unison “we shoved her up there but not sure if it is the right hole….” (mmmm that almost sounds wrong…. 🙂 Anyway… needless to say we had chosen the right path. 2 turned around at this point. When it was my turn I realised that I was too short to reach up to where there were handholds and the chimney was too slippery. So with a push from the bottom and a pull from the top I was able to climb up. The air is thinner down there so it was hard to breathe and made us all look like we had run a marathon.

Next stop…. the “PostBox”, a small hole 27cm by 30cm that you get to by inching along on your stomach and then sliding through. All of us went head first (apparently you are meant to go feet first, but it was more fun our way). As you go through the space the rock is so smooth it makes a slide and for those of us with short arms and not able to brace ourselves… it makes a wonderful trip with us ending in a heap at the end.

All in all a must!!!!

Next day was time to Ride and ostrich. I had eaten one now it was time to ride one. We chose the Cango Ostrich Farm, R30 with discount, more expensive but well worth it. First came a history and then an introduction to the newest members of the farm. Got to hold one of the chicks and watch another as it started its 10hr journey of hatching. Then a quick kiss from the only tame ostrich in the area. Before moving on to the ride. I was the second one to go. Mine was a large male, and as I held onto the wings and tried to wrap my legs around its front all heck broke lose as I it went running off and I screamed with joy. 2 jockeys run alongside you ready to catch you or pull you off. The ostrich tried to help me off by turning very quickly… then my foot got stuck under the wing …. when I did eventually get disentagled I discovered I had received a large white feather for my trouble… OOPS! but they did say to hold on tight.

The weather in Oudtshoorn is well…. HOT and DRY!!!! so every afternoon was centered around the pool or watching one of the numerous videos….

The Klein Karoo is a definite place to stop… most think of South Africa as beaches and sun…. well its amzing to see the interior where there might not be a beach but there sure is a LOT of sun…..  

This entry was posted on Monday, February 20th, 2006 at 11:13 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.