Day 12

Day twelve
Tuesday 28th January 2020
Current position
Aloe Villa
91 Baron Van Reede Street Oudtshoorn
6620
South Africa
S 33°35.02434'
E 22°12.25224'
Sun and a clear blue sky greeted us today as we enjoyed breakfast  on the terrace.
Our first stop was the Ostrich Farm which was only fifteen or so kilometres away. Again we were lucky with our timing and joined the next tour starting just fifteen minutes later. We waited in  salubrious surroundings on a comfy brown leather sofa sipping our complimentary coffee. We were joined by a party of Germans and a young Indian couple who were on their honeymoon.
The lady guide was a hoot as she laughed and joked with us whilst making her tour interesting and informative.
She showed us an Ostrich egg which was huge usually weighing in at a kilo but they can weigh as much as two. They have a 2mm thick shell and can withstand the weight of a man. Which was to be proved later when she asked us to stand on a clutch of four eggs. She said we had to be careful when handling her demonstration egg as it was very old and still contained its original yolk which would by this time be rather smelly. As she passed it to one of the newly weds she tripped pretending to drop it which drew a large Ooooooh from her audience and put a beaming smile on her face.
Next she showed us the old wooden incubator where the eggs are stored at a temperature of 36c until they hatch 42 days later. The eggs have to be turned twice a day so that the embryo does not stick to the inside of the shell. Unfortunately they did not have any chicks for us to see as it's not the breeding season.
We then visited some pens where we got up close to the birds. We fed them corn on the flat of our palms which they pecked at viciously and downed in one gulp.
For the grand finale each couple were given a turn of sitting down with their backs to the fence of the Ostrich pen. They were then handed a plastic tub full of maize to hold while several Ostriches with their long necks reached over the couple's shoulders to grab the food. The guide called this an Ostrich neck and shoulder massage.
Unfortunately as a result of the Animal Rights Activists and South African RSPCA they can no longer give Ostrich rides but it's still OK to kill and eat them.
Finally as with all good tours we ended up in the gift shop or Curio shop as the South Africans call it. I succumbed to buying a bright blue Ostrich leather key fob for the Arnage.
Back on the deserted road again we headed to the Cango Caves a further fifteen kilometres on. We arrived just before lunch at one but decided to do the two o'clock tour and spend the hour and ten minutes having a bite of lunch in the café with the view over the mountains.
After lunch we made our way to the start of the tour and were disappointed to see so many visitors from coach tours. Just as we were thinking that we should have done the one o'clock tour one of the Cave Guides shouted those who speak Chinese follow me. That got rid of the chinks. Another said those who speak German follow me. Off went the Germans. Another guide who sounded like Graham Norton said and those who are left and speak English are stuck with me.
He again was a good guide and now with the numbers on his tour at a reasonable level he took us underground. There were three large chambers in the limestone rocks each with very intricate stalagmites and stalagtites. The caves were bone dry with no dripping water to grow the stalagmites and tites as there have been drought conditions so there is no water draining down through the rock.
Underground and six hundred metres from the entrance our guide said the tour had finished and asked us to carefully walk along the well lit path to the surface daylight and the Curio Shop.
On the way back to the B&B we called into Pick'n'Pay now one of our favourite supermarkets to buy provisions. We also caused havoc at the Cell C phone shop as I could not get my phone to top up. After some consternation one of the girls in the store managed the impossible and I got my credit.
It was then back to the B&B for a cup of tea before our evening glass of wine on the terrace.
We took our evening meal at the Black Swan where the evening was warm enough for us to sit out in their garden.
Thanks to Ros's hard work in reviewing all her brochures the Lonely Planet and Google we had yet another enjoyable day.