Things to do in Oudtshoorn : Why You Should Visit Oudtshoorn

Welcome to the Ostrich Capital of the World – Oudtshoorn South Africa. Read through to know about things to do in Oudtshoorn, why you should visit Oudtshoorn, how to reach Oudtshoorn, best time to visit Oudtshoorn, where to stay in Oudtshoorn, Oudtshoorn restaurants.

The day had started brilliantly and the sun was already out. So before we started our road trip from Cape Agulhas National Park to Oudtshoorn we first drove down to Swellendam and ate some breakfast. How does that sound? We got up early and drove along the N2 to Swellendam which is small town in South
Africa which is approximately 220 km from Cape Town. We learnt most of the buildings here are influenced by Cape Dutch architectural designs and this small town also has some amazing cafeterias too, so had to come here without a fail.

However from Cape Agulhas it just took 1 and half hr to reach and by 9am we were surrounded with the aroma of all freshly baked and brews. We finished the best breakfast in town we could have possibly asked for, with the sun still rising in between the mountains. Check out this beautiful European style cafeteria where food is bought to life TREDICI. Thank us later!!

Now we welcome you all to the Ostrich capital of the world ‘Oudtshoorn’ and this beautiful town is located between the Swartberg and Outeniqua mountains. It is the largest town in Karoo mountain range and also the most loved region of South Africa, even we heard people saying it, so not sure with the exact reasons.

It is a popular tourist destination for people following the Garden Route as it is famous for its 20 million year old Cango Caves and multiple Ostrich farms. The driveway is absolutely stunning which gives you perfect landscape view of deserted lands surrounded with beautiful mountains range on the either sides, even we saw some snow capped mountains too in the month of August. Faced lots of twists and turns while crossing the mountain roads, which might make you bit sick so be prepared if you have motion sickness. Even we took some
photo breaks in between, while marking our way to Cango caves.

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How to reach Oudtshoorn : Things to do in Oudtshoorn

The best way to reach Oudtshoorn from Capetown is by car which would take approximately 7-8hrs via N1. We directly drove from Cape Agulhas and it took us almost 4 hours with a stop over at Swellendam.

Best time to visit Oudtshoorn : Things to do in Oudtshoorn

Weather is perfect all round the year here, but the best to time to go is during the warmer seasons from November- February when you can enjoy the summer sun and the dry farms.

Why to visit Oudtshoorn : Things to do in Oudtshoorn

Isn’t it a great idea watching 1000s of fastest running birds flapping their feathery wings, laying eggs in their natural habitats? Also how about witnessing 20million year old limestone rock layered Cango Caves which were discovered in the year 1780.

Where to stay in Oudtshoorn : Things to do in Oudtshoorn

We booked our stay at Old mill Lodge & Restaurant which is no ordinary lodge. It has a historic building with a watermill inside the restaurant which dates back to 200 years, also with ostrich farms inside. The mill was shipped from England in the same wood crate the mill is standing till date. Would definitely recommend this lodge, its absolutely stunning.

Where to eat in Oudtshoorn : Things to do in Oudtshoorn

Enjoy your lunch or dinner right inside the old mill lodge which offers a la carte menu serving venison and fresh ostrich platters directly from their farm. For those who don’t like to go to the extreme, you can also enjoy chicken, lamb, pasta and others and trust us the food quality is really praise worthy. They also serve buffet
breakfast which we enjoyed siting at the table outside which overlooked the running stream and tall trees.

Others restaurants around you can try are : Die Smitswinkel, La Dolce Vita, Brian’s Grill & Family Restaurant, Cafe Brule at the Queens.

Things to do in Oudtshoorn

Visit Cango Caves
Visit Cango Ostrich Farm
Visit Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

Cango Caves

We reached Cango caves by 2:40 pm and rushed towards the ticket counter as we the last one to enter. We went in the month of August it was low season and had less number of tourists. Cango Caves Working Hours : 9:30AM – 4:00PM. This cave is one of the country’s best known and most popular tourist attractions. The extensive system of tunnels and chambers is spread up to 4 km but only about a quarter of this is open to visitors. However visitors are only allowed inside the caves in groups along with a guide.

There are two types tours you can avail here “Standard Tour” which goes on for 60 min and “Adventure Tour” which lasts for 90min. So we collected the tickets from the counter itself (150R for adventure and 80R for
standard tour per person) and decided to take up the adventure tour of-course. We were guided by one of the extremely knowledgeable lady guide inside the caves where we joined another couple.
Right after entering a chill went through our nerves gazing at this gigantic yet the most beautiful caves we ever saw in our life which dated back to 20 million year. The caves are formed of limestones which are divided into multiple chambers but only few are open for public entry and viewing. The tour was really creepy and the same time adventures too. There were times when our guide switched off the lights and holy shit the entire cave felt so spooky!

We ended up climbing the stairs up and down which leaded us from one chamber to the other, while some of you might find this claustrophobic, so don’t push yourself too much to climb the narrow vents if you don’t feel it
comfortable.
Our tour ended by 3:50pm and we were back to the day light. It was so much fun and exciting would definitely recommend you all to go inside the caves and experience it by yourself. By the end of the day we both were pretty exhausted, so checked- in at Old mill Lodge, which was just 15 min drive from Cango caves. So finished our dinner(tried Ostrich meat for the first time here, its really delicious) and called it a day!!

Cango Ostrich Farm

Visiting ostrich farms are not new for us, even in Kenya we have some of them. It was a beautiful morning the other day. We finished our breakfast at ease sitting by the table set outside hearing the stream flow between the
mountains and vanishing between the lush green forest, absolute bliss!

Saying goodbye to our lodge, we drove towards Cango Ostrich farm which was roughly 20min ahead of the lodge. We reached by 10am and were assisted by a lady guide (entry fee 100R per person) who showed us around the farm and taught about multiple things we didn’t even knew about Ostriches and their products. You can simply walk in and there is no need of any prior reservations.

The main Ostrich products largely traded are their feathers and leather and in Oudtshoorn the manufacturing is higher because of the world’s largest Ostrich population is here.

Interesting facts: One ostrich egg can make 25 omelettes, crazy right and their leather is also the second strongest leather next to kangaroos.

We went around the farm and took our time feeding the ostriches and emu’s as we were the only one present there during that hour. Riju even got some neck massage too from his tall friends. At the exit you would find a curio shop which sells edged and painted ostrich eggs shells and souvenirs which you can check out for sure.

Buffelsdrift Game Lodge

We didn’t had any previous plan to visit this game lodge, while on our way exiting Oudtshoorn this place caught our eye. It’s a beautiful lodge with luxury en-suite tented accommodations, spa and restaurant which you can
choose for your stay as well, or spend some time with the wild but tamed animals.

This was the best decision we promptly made ever and trust us guys, don’t miss this. Not only they provide accommodation, game safari’s and stuffs like that but the moment we went close to the wildlife there everything
round us felt like a whole new world. We choose to interact with the elephants and feed them(200Rper
person) and the three of them were so so friendly who even responded back at us while we greeted them ha-ha.

Other activities offered at Bufflesdrift Game Lodge (with extra charges):

Night Game Drive
Elephant Walks/ Eephant Brush/Elephant Feed.
Meerkat Feed/ Meerkat Safari
Lion Feeding
Free Roaming with Cheetah

Envisioning the lovely end to this amazing time at Oudtshoorn, and now we would head towards our next destination “Wilderness”.

And yeah that’s all about it, things you can do in Oudtshoorn. So guys hope you find this blog helpful planning yours, and if you have any queries please write it down in the comment section below. We would try to help with the best of our knowledge.