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Oudtshoorn

Travel Guide Africa South Africa Western Cape Oudtshoorn

Introduction

An Ostrich

Often tagged the 'ostrich-feather capital of the world', Oudtshoorn is a town with broad lanes, and some beautifully maintained Victorian and Edwardian buildings. Have a look at the Oudtshoorn Info website for more information about all sorts of things.

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Sights and Activities

The town itself is quite small and, apart from some of the architecture and a plethora of ostrich farms, it doesn't really have much to offer.
However, several things are certainly worth doing or seeing:

The nearby Cango Caves are certainly worth a day trip, as the extensive underground passageways contain huge halls and grand limestone formations.
The Cango Wildlife Ranch is another great place to visit and for a little extra money you can cuddle the little cheetahs for example.
The Meerkat Magic Safari is another local highlight where you can have a close encouter with these little fantastic creatures.
Go and see the Karoo from above with Oudtshoor Ballooning
Highgate Ostrich Show Farm might be fun for kids, but it's a waste of time
Oudtshoorn is also only a short drive (60 kilometres) away from the coast and Wilderness National Park.

If you stay at a backpacker's, ask for discount vouchers; many of the hostels offer vouchers up to 50% off for the Ostrich farms and the Wildlife Centre.

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Getting There

By Train

Shosholoza Meyl has the following train:

Cape Town - Port Elizabeth via Oudtshoorn, 24 hours, premier class only, once weekly

By Car

Located just north of George on the Garden Route, take a turn off the N2 and take the N12 north. It's about an hour from George.

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Eat

Whilst in Oudtshoorn, try an ostrich burger or steak. It is a local speciality, and most of the restaurants in town have them included on their menus. Ostrich meat tastes similar to lean beef and is low in fat and cholesterol, as well as high in calcium, protein and iron. When minced it tastes just like beef, and is very versatile (don't surprised to see ostrich lasagne on the menu!).

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Amber Lagoon	Langverwacht Road Oudtshoorn 6620, Klein Karoo	Hostel	-
Backpackers Oasis Shanti	3 Church Street	Hostel	-
Backpackers Paradise	PO Box 381 6620 Oudtshoorn	Hostel	87
Karoo Soul Backpackers	170 Langenhoven Rd, Oudtshoorn 1 Adderley St, Oudtshoorn	Hostel	93
Lodge 96	96 Langenhoven Road	Hostel	-
Sunbird Accommodation & Backpackers	78 Langenhoven Ave	Hostel	-
Feather Nest Guest House	12 Tiran Street	Guesthouse	-
Die Fonteine Guesthouse	Schoemanshoek Oudtshoorn, Western Cape	GUESTHOUSE	-
88 Baron van Reede Guesthouse	88 Baron van Reede Street Oudtshoorn, Western Cape	Guesthouse	-
Old Mill Lodge & Restaurant	R328, Schoemanshoek Cango Caves Road	GUESTHOUSE	-
Earthbound B&B	Naude Street 19 Oudtshoorn Western Cape	GUESTHOUSE	-
Eagle Falls Country Lodge	Ruigtefontein Farm Scenic route 62	Hostel	-

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Keep Connected

Phone

Post

The SAPO (South African Post Office) is the nation's postal service. Post offices are open from 8:30am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Domestic and international deliveries are reliable but can sometimes take up to several weeks. If you want to send something oversees of any value, try using one of the private mail services, like Postnet.