Little Karoo - Big Adventure in Little Karoo

Exploring caves and ostriches

“Indeed that is a fair price, but I don’t need an ostrich egg today.” Laughter immediately ensues aboard the Hopper bus, the independent traveler service operating along the Garden Route of South Africa’s Western Cape. This unique minibus is my shuttle to Oudeshoorn, the centre of the ostrich industry in the arid Little Karoo.

For two hours, a lot of story swapping takes place, each of us recounting a personal experience in South Africa. This humorous exchange of incidents serves as an introduction to these new-found travelers from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

The Hopper bus is an ideal mode of transport along the Garden Route, with options to hop on or hop off at numerous points throughout the journey. My new acquaintances are sharing valuable travel tips as well, and I find it a welcome change to travel with people who really want to experience South Africa, rather than merely drive through it. Riding the Hopper is the perfect alternative to my normal tour guide mode of travel.

Little hills, known as “koppies”, dot the landscape of this somewhat barren region. The Little Karoo is a long narrow valley between the Outeniqua and the Swartberg Mountain ranges, not quite the harsh dry land of its neighbor to the north, the Central Karoo.

The Oasis Hostel in Oudtshoorn is the end of the line for me, while the others carry on to Cape Town. Oudtshoorn is the center of the ostrich industry, billed as the feather capital of the world. It is here I meet Jane from New Zealand and join four others on a mountain bike trip to the Cango Caves and Cango Ostrich Farm.

Mark from Joyrides Mountain Bike Adventures has the van and bike trailer waiting upon my arrival. The trip is a self-guided cycle route through the surrounding farmlands of the Little Karoo region with options to visit the local attractions. The 40-kilometer route begins near the top of the Swartberg Pass, where we are shuttled. Here we will bike back through the mountain pass and the Schoemansport Valley after visiting the Cango Caves.

The Cango Caves are known for their natural sculptured limestone formations and were discovered in 1780. Jane and I join 22 others at the caves and emerge down the stairs into the depth of the first chamber. My jaw drops as I encounter the first awesome formation, the Organ Pipes. Try to imagine organ pipes on a 20-meter scale.

Different chambers have significant stalagmite formations, with appropriate names that reflect their shape. We encounter Cleopatra’s Needle, Botha’s Hall with their “curtains” (formations hanging like a fully-draped window), the Completed Column (making full contact at the top and bottom) and Lot’s Chamber (stalagmites representing the Biblical Lot with his wife and daughters.) Strategic lighting reveals enhanced formations in some areas, like that in the Rainbow Chamber.

We depart the caves and begin our bike trip to the Cango Ostrich Farm, riding by the distant greenery of the Schoemanshoch Valley, and passing fields full of ostriches. Slightly behind schedule, we pull into the Cango Ostrich Farm. A guide named Ranger is half-way through his lecture to a small group, explaining the habits and particulars of the ostrich and its eggs.

Our tour of the farm includes an opportunity to feed and ride these odd, long-necked birds. I opt to “just” sit on one and pose for a photo, while one guest goes for a jaunt in the closely fenced corral. With little restraint, Jane and I break into fits of laughter while feeding the ostriches. Ranger instructs us to stand with our backs to the birds while holding a bucket of corn. Simultaneously, four rubber-necked friends bend their necks up and over our shoulders, dipping and bobbing their beaks in a feasting frenzy.

Oudtshoorn provides an ideal habitat for ostriches, which are farmed all over this region like cattle. Their meat is extremely lean, and their feathers and eggs are highly marketable. The eggs are popular souvenirs, but take heed to these precautions. They can be cumbersome to pack, over-priced, and while some are ornately hand painted, others may not be such a work of art. So before you get yourself into an overzealous bartering match, you may want to settle for ostrich pâté instead. If not, you might find yourself telling your own humorous story to some new acquaintances.

If you go

Tourist Bureau Cango Ostrich Farm P.O. Box 255 Tel: (0443) 22 4623 Oudtshoorn Fax: (0443) 22 8241 6620 South Africa Tel: (0443) 22 2221/22 6643 Fax: (0443) 29 1812/22 5007

Cango Caves Tel: (0443) 22 7410 Fax: (0443) 29 1812

Joyrides P.O. Box 203 Oudtshoorn 6620 South Africa Tel: (0443) 29-1163

The Hopper Bus P.O. Box 13482 Humewood, Port Elizabeth 6013 South Africa Tel: (041) 512332

Author : Tracey Rayson