Oudtshoorn is a small agricultural town in the Karoo. A five-hour drive from Cape Town, it is one of the lovely spots you’ll experience along the Graden Route. The first things that come to mind when thinking about this small Karoo town are the Cango caves, high summer temperatures, meerkats and ostriches – a lot of ostriches. The town is active in the agriculture, ostrich farming and tourism industries. Whether it’s ostrich meat, feathers, eggs, fashion or adventure activities, it’s a unique place to visit.
The Ostrich Farm
Oudtshoorn has the largest ostrich largest population in the world. Driving into the town, on our way to the campsite, we saw sign after sign of ostriches, ostrich products, and attractions long before we spotted an actual ostrich. It was once a booming ostrich feather business town, and specialised ostrich breeding continues here.
This area has loads of ostrich farms with tours; I visited Highgate Safari Ostrich Farm. A lovely woman named Geraldine took me around the farm on a solo tour (I arrived just after opening!). Throughout the tour, Geraldine shared stories and insights about this 100-year-old farm. She described the life cycle of an ostrich on the farm – from the laying processes to the teenage birds – and the various ways istrich related products are used.
Camping in Oudtshoorn
Once a year, I will agree to camp as an accommodation option. After a few years of doing this, I’m still not sold on camping. Although, I must say that camping in Oudtshoorn at Oppi Dam Resort has highlighted some of the appeals. We chose to stay here because it was a few kilometres from the starting point for the Oudtshoorn marathon that some of us (not me) were running.
Oppi Dam is a camping site about 15 km from Oudtshoorn, on the way to the Cango Caves. It has private and a couple of cottages and chalets. As you enter, there is a dam where you can fish and canoe. There are two swimming pools to cool down when camping in the summer. In summer, the temperature in Oudtshoorn can reach the forties, so you will need that relief.
One of the things that irks me about camping is the ablution block. Sure, it’s usually neat enough, but the great trek to pee can be annoying. Each campsite at Oppi dam has its own ablution block, kitchen sink, electrical power points, and braai stand with a grid. This, for me, was a game changer. I’m not saying I’m a camper now, but I’m certainly sold on the private block, and that’s what I’m looking for in a camping experience from now on.
The campsites could be slightly further apart for noise purposes because you could easily hear conversations next door, which I find is usually not the case when we camp. Still, if you book a few spots and go with friends and family with kids, I think it would be a lot of affordable fun.
Cango Caves
You can’t visit Oudtshoorn without visiting the Cango Caves. The Cango caves are “a series of caves which formed in the limestone rocks at the foot of the Swartberg mountains millions of years ago.”
The first chamber we entered is incredible and vast, with massive columns and other formations around and above you. The guide switched off all the lights to show us how dark it was there. There’s not much to see with just a lantern. The acoustics there were great, and in the past, concerts were periodically held in that chamber but were stopped due to vandalism.
The complex has a restaurant, interpretive and two guided tour options into the caves. The Heritage tour is a one-hour exploration of the front of the cave sequence. It’s easy walking, and there aren’t any tight spaces. The second tour, the Adventure tour, goes deeper into the caves. This one requires you to be lean and fit because it will sometimes require you to crawl or slide on your belly. Due to time constraints, we went on the first tour, which we thoroughly enjoyed. On top of that, the guide shared a story about someone getting stuck in one of the tunnels for hours. This meant the people behind her were stuck in a cave, too, because it was a one-way path!
Wine tasting in Oudtshoorn
We always find a place to check what wine farms are in the area. We combined it with a post-marathon lunch at Karusa Vineyard and wine tasting. This Klein Karoo winery and craft brewery was the perfect spot for a quick lunch and a post-marathon beer. It was hot, so we sat in the garden overlooking the vineyard and fantastic scenery.
When is the best time to visit Oudtshoorn?
Oudtshoorn is sunny most days of the year, and the winters are dry, as the town is in the Klein Karoo. Tag this trip onto a holiday along the garden route. The temperatures in the summer months (November to March) can go up to the mid-thirties. The roads leading to Oudtshoorn offer a distinctive and beautiful scenic drive all year round.