Dan on ostrich
Gemma on ostrich
happy birthday Marijke!
Dan at Cango Caves
Gemma at Cango Caves
Dan vs food, crocodile
elephant bush ride
A celebratory start to the week here at Oudtshoorn with a wonderful champagne breakfast at the spectacular Su Casa restaurant, happy birthday Marijke! We got to explore the beautiful grounds of the venue and even spotted the outdoor chess set!
The weather very much improved since then and we decided to make the most of this good spell, so adventure was called for! We were even hopeful to tick another challenge off the list! But first, a quick airport stop at George Airport (and a chance to pick up another copy of the addictive You magazine!). We then travelled south and Dan and Marijke got to dip their toes into the Indian Ocean! Quite the rugged coast with choppy waves, some small jellyfish were spotted on the beach so it was not a day for an adventurous dip!
First on our Oudtshoorn list were the Cango Caves, caves that delve deep into the local mountain ranges offering the normal or adventure tour. On spotting the squeeze throughout "the Postbox" on the adventure tour, we opted for the safer normal tour, sure I was not dressed for the occasion either! We were very impressed by our visit, the local guide was excellent, offering interesting snippets about those who first explored the caves during the 1700's and some tongue in cheek info too! The first Throne Room is spectacular and they used to host concerts there before the noise levels were damaging the interior. Makes you wonder how they even got stage equipment in there let alone a crowd of people.
We had spotted some elephants on the way to the caves so talk soon turned to investigating the prospect of doing the elephant safari. A chance of a lifetime to ride on the backs of elephants through the bush was too much temptation so we stopped off to make our booking. No visit would be complete without a glass of something out by the waterside! Dan sampled the local craft beer, I had what looked like a goblet of wine and Marijke opted for the local Amarula, on ice of course! Dan's love of local cuisine led him to order the platter for two, much to the surprise of the local waiter. Biltong, sambuca soaked pears, venison carpaccio and cheese later, he was a happy man.
Wednesday was a venture to the local crocodile farm, which is now an animal wildlife ranch, hosting a wide variety of animals, including some of the big South African 5. We were in for a treat. Our tour guide brought us into the first room which housed the biggest bats we had ever seen. They weren't even behind a screen, although the guide joked that we may need to hide our jugulars from them in case they took fancy to a bite! The anticipation of seeing the crocodiles was palatable as the crowd ohhed and ahhed over Dolce and Gabanna, the resident water boar, reminisced about Madagascar with the lemurs and held their noses by the vultures who had just polished a carcass of meat.
But the pinnacle of the visit was soon to be unveiled, the crocodiles. Lazing out in the morning sun, they looked harmless. A walk across the purpose built rickety bridge soon woke everyone up and the cameras came out to capture the crocs at rest. This was only the beginning, the guide pointed out the cage that was up for rental for those who wanted to dive down to go face-to-face with the deadly crocs, I'm not sure she had many takers!
Walking through the next part we saw the playful otters who were more than happy to put on a show for us as well as the shy and retiring hippo who came out of the shade at the last minute. The best was yet to come, more crocodiles and this time more of them.
The guide quickly counted the crocs as some were resting and some aimlessly swimming in their water pond before she took to her platform to perform the trick of the day. We were very close to the crocs and made aware of the leader of the group, a gigantic male called Bob. He looked terrifying and certainly a creature not to be messed with. The show must go on and the guide pulled out a piece of meat to entice the crocs to come and take a bite. With a bit of persuading finally we had one take the snap and everyone marvelled at the ferocity and swift snatch made by a smaller croc. Time to go and leave them to rest, seeing as they now had the fresh taste for meat!
Further along we got to see the very cute baby cheetahs, the adult cheetahs, white lions and leopards. The beautiful and majestic animals were keen to soak up the sun so we decided to head to Turtles restaurant where Dan would go head to head with the local delicacy, the crocodile burger!
Thursday was the big day, our elephant safari! A good early start meant we had first pick of the elephants and with a little apprehension we mounted the elephants to begin our bush safari. We each had a guide so we were in safe hands and quickly got used to the movements of the animals as the walked slowly and steadily uphill and on to the watering hole. It was time for a drink and gallons of water were consumed, we got to see their powerful trunks in action and hear the water swoosh into their mouths.
After an exhilarating trip through the bush we came back to base where we got to feed the elephants, play football with them and get hugs from them! An amazing experience, topped off by the elephant salute at the end, with their right legs raised and trunks elevated in unison, we bade them farewell.
Now, on to the important stuff! As we are in the ostrich capital of the world, we have very easy access to these ostriches so we were off to complete a very important one off the list, sit on an ostrich! This was all going to be left in Dans hands but when we got there we were told that persons under 70 kilos could do it so it was time for me to take one for the team! A glass of wine later I felt ready to go and we did the tour of the farm, learned all about the ostriches, everything to get well acquainted. But no need to worry, they were not weighing people so we both got to do it, see our pictures for challenge proof! Not as tough as I thought and actually enjoyable especially as the other people on the tour were not brave enough to try! Feeling exhilarated and accomplished, Dan decided that he was more than up for the challenge of buying biltong for himself. He ordered it a bit wet, some fat but not too much and got a big bag of it for R100. After a taste test from Marijke, he got the nod and is now chief Biltong buyer. He better hurry down to the shops tomorrow morning as he is all set to watch Arsenal and then the Curry Cup final, a prime opportunity to eat lots of biltong.
The rest of our challenges lie in Cape Town and from next Wednesday onwards we are on our road trip, first taking in some of the beautiful towns on the way before hitting the beautiful city of Cape Town. And .... Kruger is booked! Watch this space as the adventure is taking shape nicely, but will we be able to survive on our own?!
Lots of love
Gemma and Dan
21 °C
