I went to Oudtshoorn for a mid-week tourism meeting and had a ball.  After the tourism talks were done it was time for discovery.  The Queens Hotel is the third oldest hotel in South Africa and dates back to 1880.  Although recent restorations were not all complete the garden area was a cool retreat with a classic water feature.  As per recommendation we went across the road to Karoopot for a quick drink. Unable to find something local on the list I opted for Flagstone’s Poetry to pair with the generous wifi available.  Hereafter it was time for dinner at the Protea Hotel Riempie Estate where an awesome ostrich steak was dished up for dinner.  Enough sustenance to keep us going through the next day of hectic Oudtshoorn sightseeing.  Add the Grundheim witblits and liqueurs and we were warmed up and ready.   Be warned… Oudtshoorn can get very cold in winter. Breakfast at Cango Wildlife Ranch where Tammy led an informational tour of the thirty year old property.  The commitment to conservation was obvious and at times it felt as if I arrived on set of the annimated movie Madagascar.  A few kilometers down the road Buffelsdrift Game Lodge has plenty to offer and the well known meerkat safari is surely one of the main attractions.  On the road again Safari Ostrich Farm is situated on the opposite side of Oudtshoorn and  has a vast collection of ostriches matched by a great on-site shop with VERY well prized items.  I learnt lots about ostriches such as that their brains are smaller than their eyes and that an ostrich can run at 70km/hr for 3 hours.  The cheetah might be the fastest animal but the ostrich has endurance and is the superior long distance runner.  Eager to recall these facts at the next quiz evening we took the road back home to Hermanus via Mossel Bay.

The visit was arranged complements of Oudtshoorn Tourism.