Western Cape, South Africa

Road trip - March 2004
 

My sister-in-law, Suzanne, has a farm pub in Bree River where she lives with my three nephews, Richard, Jason and David.  Robert and I took the younger two boys for a hike up the mountain which is literally in their back yard.  We saw many interesting wildflowers and fragrant shrubs.  We spent the night there then headed on through Robertson, Montagu, the Little Karoo to Oudtshoorn.  Somewhere along this route we stopped at a farm stall and had rooibos tea and rusks, a typical South African snack.  We also bought guava fruit leathers and some fresh fruit.

We went on at an ostrich farm and were shown how they incubate the eggs, collect the feathers and the goods made from ostrich leather.  We then went on a tour of the farm and we each got to ride an ostrich.  There was a campground nearby where we tent camped for the night.

The Cango Caves lie in the Swartberg Mountain Range.  The caves are 3.3 miles long with several different chambers.  We went on the "Adventurous" Tour where you get to climb through narrow chimneys and ledges.  I have fond memories of doing this when I was about 8 years old.

We went to the Cango Wildlife Ranch where they had many of the typical South African wildlife.  We saw cougars, leopards, lions and several kinds of antelope.  They have the largest collection of alligators in South Africa.

The highlight of this day was that we got to pet a cheetah.  While Robert was petting his cheetah it rolled over so Robert had to step away and approach him from the other side as it is safer to approach the cheetah from behind.  They are very playful and will apparently try to engage you in a game if you approach them from the front.

Home

Copyright Reserved - Created September 2005 - e-mail Jane