After a fabulous two days along the coast in Plettenberg Bay, we drove inland to Oudtshoorn. It was fun to leave the coast to head inland for a night before heading onto Mossel Bay. The change in scenery was dramatic after we went over the pass and drove down to the Karoo, a semidesert region of South Africa.
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn calls itself “ostrich capital of the world” because of the industry they developed that goes back to Victorian times. Besides ostriches, another reason to visit Oudtshoorn is to visit the Congo Caves. This is what we did during our overnight in Oudtshoorn:
Cango Caves
A cultural and natural landmark in South Africa, these 20-million year old cave system has over 4km of passages, but only a fraction of them is open to visitors. The caves became a tourist attraction during the 1800s, making them one of Africa’s oldest tourist attractions!
If you want to visit the caves, you must book a tour ahead of time, especially during the high season. When booking, you can choose between two options: the heritage tour, or the adventure tour. The heritage tour walks your through the first six largest and most spectacular chambers in the caves while learning more about the history of the caves. This tour takes about one hour to complete. The adventure tour is more challenging because you have to go through narrow tunnels and passages, sometimes requiring crawling, sliding, and climbing. This tour is only recommended for lean people because some of the passages are really narrow. The adventure tour takes about 90 minutes to complete.
We chose to do the heritage tour and were pleased with the experience. We had a moment when we wished we’d opted for the adventure tour, but then we saw a model of what the actual passages were like and I felt relieved we hadn’t done it!
Unlike other caves we’ve visited in the past, the Cango Caves were a really nice temperature, so we were able to visit in shorts and -shirts! There is a cafe in the visitors center where you can get a food and refreshments. The cafe also has a small play structure for kids to play in while you enjoy your coffee.
Ostrich Farm Visit
After a lot of careful research, we decided to visit Highgate Ostrich Farm to learn more about these animals. You can visit the farm on a guided tour where you’ll learn everything about the story of ostrich farming in the area that goes back over a hundred years.
On the tour you’ll meet the ostriches, and feed them. If you visit during chick season, you might even get to hold a baby ostrich like we did! You will also get to see ostrich feathers and eggs. Overall, the tour takes between 45 minutes to an hour and it’s very entertaining and informative.
If you decide to visit Oudtshoorn, make sure to do your research before visiting any animal attraction. Some of them market themselves as sanctuaries, but in reality they are more like a petting zoo. And whatever you choose, please DO NOT ride ostriches. Their skeletons are not designed to hold the weight of a human, so it is really harmful to them.
Where to Eat
The evening we arrived in Oudtshoorn we went dinner at Nostalgie. This family-run eatery transports you back in time with a menu that ranges from classic to eclectic, highlighting ostrich cuisine. We loved eating under the trees on their verandah as the weather was perfect!
The food at Nostalgie was delicious! This was my first time trying ostrich meat and wow, what a wonderful surprise it was! I ordered an ostrich steak, and wasn’t sure what it would look like. I imagined it’d be similar to chicken, but it is in fact a red meat! My ostrich steak tasted like fillet mignon! The best part? Ostrich meat is packed with nutrients, and lacks all the negative components associated with red meat. If you are in Oudtshoorn I definitely recommend you give ostrich meat a try. It was delicious!
On the way to Mossel Bay from Highgate Ostrich Farm we stopped at to Eight Bells Mountain Inn for lunch. There we had lunch at the Tea Garden and it was lovely! The outdoor dining space was set under mature trees and surrounded by beautiful gardens. There was a playground and a sandbox right next to it, which was perfect for our kids to stretch their legs after having been in the car. This fairytale-like garden was the perfect place to stop for lunch! Oh, and in case you were wondering, they serve ostrich here too!
Mossel Bay
We arrived in Mossel Bay in the mid afternoon and headed straight to the Bartolomeu Dias Museum as it had been recommended to us. The original plan was to do shark cave diving, but that’s not really possible anymore as the sharks seem to have move on from there. There are still operators who will offer to take you, but just know that your chances of actually seeing sharks are very low.
Bartolomeu Dias Museum
Back in the 1500s, a sailor left a letter in a Portuguese sailor’s shoe tied to a tree in this location. About a year later, another sailor found the letter that contained information that was strategically useful to them. As a result, leaving mail ashore in this place became a means of communication between ships that anchored in this bay. Nowadays, there is a large post box shaped like a shoe next to where the tree where the letters were originally exchanged. You can buy stamps at the gift shop inside the maritime museum. The stamp commemorates the fact that South Africa’s first post office was a tree!
Ship lovers will enjoy the maritime museum. In particular the replica of the caravel used by Bartolomeu Dias to round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. We enjoyed learning more about Portuguese history in South Africa, especially about how advanced their ships were and how they led the charge in navigation back in the day. Of course, all of those advances came with a price paid by the inhabitants of the lands invaded by the Portuguese during their “age of discovery.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at our Airbnb. We also took the opportunity to do laundry (can’t escape laundry!) because this rental had a washer and dryer! In fact, our Airbnb in Mossel Bay was wonderful! The space was beautiful with an expansive deck overlooking the bay. There were tons of toys for kids to play with, as well as a cool zip line out in the yard. A perfect place for families! No surprise that for dinner we got take away pizza from Matt and Collin’s Pizzeria and Food Bar, and ate it back at the apartment.
On our way out of Mossel Bay, we grabbed baked goods from Broodmandjie Die. We grabbed a couple of giant muffins, and mini lemon tarts to enjoy on the drive from Mossel Bay to Cape Town.
Final Thoughts
We felt like the inland detour to Oudtshoorn was worth it. Learning about ostriches was quite interesting, but tasting ostrich meat for the first time was really great! And I’m really happy we got to visit the Cango Caves. I personally loved the drive to Mossel Bay from the ostrich farm, including our lunch stop.
In terms of logistics, we made a bit of a triangle driving from Plettenberg Bay to Oudtshoorn and then to Mossel Bay. We took the N12/R62 to Oudtshoorn, and then the R328 to Mossel Bay. That meant we went over two different mountain passes, so double the views and the beauty! On the way to Mossel Bay, on the R328, we encountered many baboons on the road, which was very exciting!
Want to learn more about our travels? Visit our Places page.
