History
The town was named after Baron van Reede van Oudtshoorn, governor designate to the then Cape Colony. Oudtshoorn (Western Cape - South Africa) was something of a backwater up to about 1860. From then on however, especially from ±1880 things took a turn for the better - in fact the place became a boom town. The reason for this was ostrich feathers… The stuff became high fashion in Europe, reaching excellent prices and Oudtshoorn was one of the main suppliers, exporting through Port Elizabeth's feather market.

Ostrich farmers and feather merchants soon became so-called feather barons, as in very wealthy. As symbol of their newfound wealth many built extravagant mansions with the building material of the day - sandstone. Many of these beautiful buildings are still around to enthrall present day visitors. The onset of the First World War in 1914 caused the feather market to crash and many of the feather barons went bankrupt overnight. However, ostrich farming is alive and well in Oudtshoorn although the produce is worth less today. The town is still known to many as the "ostrich feather capital of the world".

(For more on South Africa's history, click here)

Tourism
Today tourists from across South Africa and the world flock to Oudtshoorn. Its two main attractions, ostrich show farms and the Cango Caves both features among South Africa's top 20 tourist attractions. The town's geographical location is perfect for tourists as it lies virtually on the border of the Garden Route, the Groot and the Klein Karoo. It is also one of the main centres on the recently established, but very popular, Route 62. We strongly recommend a visit to Oudtshoorn to all visitors to South Africa.

Dutch and Flemish tourists should seriously consider to head to Oudtshoorn during April for the annual Afrikaans arts festival - the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK). In addition to the above Oudtshoorn offers many other attractions including 19th century sandstone-architecture, unique restaurants, museums, a host of 4x4 trails and hiking routes to name but a few.

Ostrich show farms
If you want to learn something about ostriches and ostrich farming then the ostrich capital of the world is the place to do it. It may seem strange to pitch ostriches as a tourist attraction but most tourists thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Visitors are given a short introductory talk on ostriches and ostrich farming before heading out to explore the particular farm. You will see and hold ostrich eggs (equal in size and content to 24 chicken eggs), you'll get to touch and if you like feed an ostrich, you'll probably get to see ostrich chicks and you'll even have the chance to ride an ostrich… Most of the farms also feature curio shops and a restaurant with one of the main items on the menu being ostrich steaks!

For more information on Oudtshoorn's ostrich farms, click here.

The Cango Caves
The Cango Caves is located in the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains, some 28km north of Oudtshoorn. The Caves feature huge concert-hall sized caverns as well as narrow passages and rooms. Visitors may choose from one of three tours with the shortest one, the "Standard Tour", being the best option if you suffer from claustrophobia or have difficulty walking. If you're adventurous and don't mind crawling some, and possibly getting your clothes a bit dirty, then take on the "Adventure Tour".

Strict conservation policies are in place at the Caves. Only limited lighting is used and only for as long as a tour group is within a specific area. You may only explore the Caves in your particular guided group, you are not allowed to break off any of the sensitive drip-formations and only one of the Caves' five sections are open to the public.

For more on the Cango Caves, click here.

Cango Wildlife Ranch
The Cango Wildlife Ranch is located on the edge of Oudtshoorn alongside the road leading to the Cango Caves. The place is very commercial and we cringe at the idea of "wild" animals kept in cages or smallish camps. We believe you'll do much better heading for the Kruger National Park or a similar game reserve where you can view the big five and other African wildlife, free to roam about in their natural surroundings within large and healthy ecosystems.

However, most tourists enjoy a visit to the Ranch thoroughly. It also has the advantage that you are guaranteed to see crocodile and cat species, while in a game reserve luck will always play a role. The Ranch features crocodiles, snakes, cheetah, tiger (exotic), leopard and lion - amongst others. On a guided tour you may enter the small camp of tame cheetahs with a guide to have a photograph snapped of yourself with these gracious cats (at small fee in support of cheetah conservation). The information provided on the guided tour is interesting and deals with the crocodiles and cat species, not the snakes. The Ranch also features a curio shop and restaurant.

Sandstone architecture
During the ostrich feather boom years, ±1880-1914, many of the feather barons used some of their newfound wealth to build large sandstone mansions. Most of these buildings were built in extravagant style for the period, however there are also a couple of more humble smaller residential buildings. Many of the town's B&B's, hotels and restaurants are located in old sandstone buildings. A number of the Oudtshoorn's sandstone buildings have been declared national monuments.

If you have a special interest in architecture you should consider doing a tour of the many fine sandstone buildings Oudtshoorn have on offer. Africa Deluxe Tours will gladly arrange a specialist guide for our clients if so required.

Museums
CP Nel Museum
Housed in a typical Oudtshoorn sandstone building, the CP Nel Museum is a cultural history museum reflecting the feather boom period and the development of the ostrich feather industry. It also houses a number of other interesting exhibitions and collections including a functioning Synagogue; photo's and information on Jewish residents of old Oudtshoorn and their contribution to the community; a few items reflecting on the Holocaust; uniforms and other artifacts from the Anglo-Boer War; cars from the early 20th century and household items from that period to name but a few.

We're generally not keen on stuffy museums at Africa Deluxe Tours, but we were genuinely impressed with this museum during a recent visit to it. If you have any interest in history and/or culture you should include it in your itinerary.

Arbeidsgenot
Arbeidsgenot (Afrikaans for "the pleasure of work") is a typical Victorian sandstone house of modest proportions. It is a museum because it once was the home (1901-1950) of C.J. Langenhoven, a celebrated South African writer and philosopher. He was also the author of the first South African national anthem. In the museum's immediate vicinity there are several other houses dating from the Feather Boom Period. The house-museum contains furniture and other artifacts from Langenhoven's time of residence.

The KKNK Arts Festival
The Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (Afrikaans for Klein Karoo National Arts Festival) or KKNK is an annual (April) Oudtshoorn-based arts festival. Since its launch a decade ago it has grown into the largest festival in its kind in South Africa, even surpassing the very popular annual Grahamstown National Arts Festival. The festival is a showcase for mainly Afrikaans art, although not exclusively so.

Dutch and Flemish tourists should find the festival very accessible and interesting given the similarity between Afrikaans and these languages. Non-Afrikaans speaking visitors will find a couple of English productions on the programme. Visitors are off-course less dependant on language to appreciate the festival's music and visual arts offerings. Productions and exhibitions range from classic to contemporary. Huge flea-markets and other activities also form part of the festival.

The Swartberg Pass day excursion
A tried and tested day excursion is to undertake a circular scenic drive from Oudtshoorn via De Rust, Meiringspoort, Prince Albert, the historic Swartberg Pass and back to Oudtshoorn past the Cango Caves and through Schoemanspoort and Schoemanshoek.

De Rust and Prince Albert are both typical small Karoo dorpies (rural villages). Both offer tea gardens, curios shops and feature white washed Karoo cottages. Meiringspoort and Schoemanspoort are winding roads leading through narrow gorges, which feature cliffs, beautiful vegetation, picnic spots and small wildlife including monkeys and baboons. Schoemanshoek is a beautiful green farming valley. It is also home to our preferred ostrich show farm, the Cango Ostrich & Butterfly Farm.

The undisputed highlight of the circular route is the historic Swartberg Pass. It represents the last construction project of Thomas Bain, a 19th century road builder who built a number of impressive passes throughout South Africa. The dirt road climbs to 1 583m above sea-level as it makes its winding way across the Swaterberg Mountains (Swartberg is Afrikaans for "Black Mountain"). Minor repair work was done on the road in the 1980's but in essence this remarkable engineering feat has withstood snow and rain for more than a 100 years. The road features regular hairpin turns as it climbs some of the steepest sections of the Pass. It is secured by dry-stone-packed retaining walls of up to 2.4km in length and 13m high in places - all built with manual labour (mostly convicts…). Along the way you are treated to tremendous views of valleys and mountain peaks.

Tourism Routes
Garden Route
Strictly speaking Oudtshoorn is not part of the Garden Route. It is separated from it by the Outeniqua Mountain Range and falls within the arid Klein Karoo. However, in terms of distance the town is quite close to the Garden Route and is linked to it by the very scenic Outeniqua Pass (George) and Robbinson Pass (Mossel Bay). Because of Oudtshoorn's top tourist attractions and its proximity to the Garden Route most tourists exploring the Garden Route include the town in their itinerary.

Route 62
The Route 62 tourism route takes its name from the official route number for the road linking Montagu to Oudtshoorn via the towns of Barrydale, Ladismith, Caltizdorp and De Hoop. The tourism route extends west of Montagu towards Worcester (enroute to Cape Town) to also include it, Ashton and Robertson (the official route number for this section is actually R60). If you are planning to stay in Cape Town and want to venture to the Garden Route for a few days, joining Route 62, the Garden Route and the N2 from Mossel Bay to Cape Town (turning off to Hermanus enroute) makes for a very scenic circular touring route. Oudtshoorn then functions as the gateway between Route 62 and the Garden Route.