Places to visit in Oudtshoorn, South Africa

After spending our first night in Kimberley during our recent road trip, we went to Oudtshoorn. During our time there, I found out that Oudtshoorn is the ostrich capital of the world. Not just South Africa, the world! Impressive. So, what are the places to visit in Oudtshoorn? Here is how we kept busy….

Places to visit in Oudtshoorn

We only spend one day in Oudtshoorn, but it was a busy one. See what we squeezed in in one day.

The Cango Caves in Oudtshoorn

A bucket list item of mine has always been to visit the Cango Caves. It is not that I love caves so much, but it was more that I felt the Cango Caves is THE cave to see in South Africa. The Cango Caves are about 40 minutes outside of Oudtshoorn. We arrived there bright and early, just in time for the first tour of the morning.

There are two tours on offer –  the heritage tour and the adventure tour. The adventure tour is exactly as the name says – for those who like to be daring and try to squeeze into small, dark and narrow spaces. This was not us. We took the Heritage tour and enjoyed it very much. The Heritage Tour is about an hour-long, but one sees so many caves and formations in that hour, it feels much longer than just an hour.

We also had a fabulous guide. He was full of jokes, but also explained the different caves and the formations in the cave really well. He also made sure that everyone stayed with the group and that there were plenty of opportunities for taking photos.

I thought going into the caves would be scary as I am claustrophobic, but the inside of the caves have been lighted very well and a brick path has been laid to make it easier for the tour groups to move around inside. For the Adventure Tour I am sure it is more rustic.

Wilgewandel Holiday Farm

By this time we were starving since we had been up early to go to Cango Caves but had not had breakfast yet. So off to Wilgewandel holiday farm we went.

Wilgewandel Holiday Farm was an oasis for the kids. It is not a fancy place with all kinds of gadgets. Instead, there are good old-fashioned activities. The first thing the kids wanted to do was ride a camel. I think it was bumpier than they expected, but they still enjoyed it.

The next thing we attempted was the zipline across the dam. Unfortunately, it was short and over just as the adrenaline kicked in.

We then spend some time seeing and feeding all the farm animals. There were some ostriches, donkeys, goats, lambs, chickens and rabbits. After that we all had a ride on the donkey cart. It was the first time in my life that I had a donkey cart ride and it was a lot of fun.

I then played Ghwarra-ghwarra golf for the first time in my life . It is the same as normal putt-putt or mini-golf, but the course is sand-based and not carpet-based. All kinds of plants grew on the course and made getting the ball into the hole more challenging.

There were other activities also on offer that we did not do, including paddle boats and peddle cars.

After these exciting activities, the kids wanted to do the water slides. Unfortunately, the day was chilly and getting wet was a bit too cold, so we did not stay there too long.

Cango Wildlife Ranch

The Cango Wildlife Ranch is about 20 minutes by car from Wilgewandel Holiday Farm. We arrived just in time for the last tour of the day!

We had a very knowledgeable guide, and he made the tour interesting and fun for us and the kids. He fed a crocodile and I have to admit that I was surprised by how high crocodiles can jump for food.

The Cango Wildlife Ranch has many different sections to see, including Lemur Falls, Kuranda Forest, Cheetahland, Wallaby Walkabout and the Snakepark. I loved the lemurs and the tigers, especially the white tiger. There were lions, fast asleep in the late afternoon sun.

The Cango Wildlife Ranch has a coffee shop and a souvenir shop. We definitely consider this one of the must-see places in Oudtshoorn.

The Safari Ostrich Farm

The Safari Ostrich Farm is located 20 minutes outside of Oudtshoorn, but not in the same direction as the Cango Caves and Wilgewandel Holiday Farm.

Once again we were lucky in being just in time for the last tour of the day. The tour kicked off with a visit to a little room where you can feel the different ostrich feathers and also see what ostrich feathers are used for.

Then we all got onto a trailer that is being pulled by a tractor and we went to the ostrich camps. We were given the chance to feed the ostriches. One of them was aggressive and seemed to come just for the food in my hand!

We could also stand on an ostrich egg. These eggs contain 24 normal eggs inside and the shell is so hard even a person weighing more than 100kgs can stand on it.

The guides helped those individuals who wanted to ride an ostrich to get on the ostrich and taking a short ride with two guides – one holding the ostrich and the other making sure the passenger on the ostrich is safe. It was funny as one has to sit leaning back on an ostrich, meaning you already feel you are falling.

Then we went to a separate area to witness an ostrich race. Ostriches can run fast and they like to kick.

We had a superb guide at the Safari Ostrich Show Farm. He knew more than just a little about ostriches.

After all this excitement we went for a quick glance to the souvenir shop where they sell ostrich leather handbags, feathers and other cute and expensive things.

The end of our day in Oudtshoorn

What a busy day it had been! But so worth it. As you can see, there are many places to visit in Oudtshoorn! The kids had a blast and learned so many new things and even us adults learned a thing or two.

Have you been to Oudtshoorn before? What were your favourite places to visit in Oudtshoorn? If you haven’t been, does it sound like a place you would like to visit?