OUDTSHOORN OSTRICHES (Day 6)

I had quite the hangover! But that wasn't enough to stop me. We loaded up the car and were on the road fairly early.

Our path took us through through various sets of mountains, over several passes, through valleys and farmland (it was odd seeing ostriches and horses grazing together in the fields) and eventually into a desert environment.

Eventually we reached our goal of the Highgate Ostrich Farm in Oudtshoorn. It was QUITE hot out.

90% of all ostriches come from this area, the Klein Karoo (or Little Karoo). There are some 500 farms producing 200,000 birds per year. There are basically three reasons farmers raise ostriches: breeding (to sell the chicks), meat and feathers. The Highgate Farm, established almost 100 years ago by the Hooper family, is the oldest show farm and has been open to the public since the late 1930's.

Daniel led us on a tour that was both highly educational but also quite exciting. We got to feed ostriches; I stood on a pile of eggs; and we both got to ride an ostrich. There was also an ostrich race as a grand finale.

Ostriches can be up to almost 8 feet tall and weigh a good 300 pounds. They have extremely strong legs and can kick through a car door. One egg weighs about 3 pounds. The shells are very strong and a nest of eggs can support up to 200 pounds of weight. Since ostriches can't carry too heavy of a load, a rider has to weigh less than 175 pounds.

We drove into town and found a place to stay. For dinner we tried ostrich meat and eggs... well, just 'egg' since one egg can feed several people.

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