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Published: March 29th 2007
Pool at Mooiplass
View of pool at the Mooiplass guess house and Ostrich farm Today we have decided is going to be a chill out day. Yesterday was a long drive and we were both a bit grumpy. We have been racing around for the last 10 days and there really insn’t much to do in Oudshoorn other than the Ostriches and the Cango caves.
Oudshoorn is the Ostrich capital of South Africa and they are bred mainly for their meat and skins. Kirsten is a little disappointed with the Mooiplass guest house which in her opinion seems to have lost the family feel. We leave the room early for breakfast where we have an Ostrich based breakfast of meatballs and scrambled eggs.
Our host Kweis is just a little over hospitable and won’t leave us alone for 5 minutes before offering us another nugget of info on the area! We just want to chill out!
Initially we were going to do the tour of the farm but we decide against it as Kweis is giving the tour and he probably won’t stop talking until dusk!!!
Instead we decide to drive into town to take a look around. Oudstoorn can only be described as a sleepy provincial town with not
Ostrich
On the Mooiplass farm a great deal to see. The only real historical significance is that the chap who created the Africaans language and culture lived in Oudstoorn. The other event of note is happening this weekend what sounds like a wek long drunken party celebrating Africaans culture. Apparently 250000 people head to Oudshoorn for the event including, stalls, live music, beer and more beer! I’m kinda glad were are leaving town tomorrow.
After wandering around town for an hour we pop into an internet café and copy all our photos to DVD. Before we leave SA we are going to post all our maps, info and pictures back to the UK. In the internet café the chap behind the counter (who seemed quite stoned) mentioned a couple of things for us to do including a place selling Ostrich leather goods about 10km out of town on the way to George. He indicated they had some good stuff for significantly less than the stuff in town.
So we jumped in the car and headed for Lugro about 10km out of town. Well, what a weird place! It’s in the middle of nowhere at the end of a dirt track. The goods for sale include shoes, bags, wallets, purses, key rings etc all made out of Ostrich leather. We end up selecting a couple of wallets and take them to the counter to buy them when I notice the owners receipt wallet which I really liked. I asked him “Do you sell these here” and he replied “ No, but I can make you one, when are you leavingtown?” I replied “First thing tomorrow”. Well he told us to come back at 9.00am in the morning and he himself would make one out of the skin I had selected. What a great chap he was. He was called “Fanie” and he even gve us a couple of bottle of wine to have with our evening meal.
We headed back to the guest house where we chilled around the pool for the rest of the day while we bubble wrapped and packed the wine for shipping. Apparently this area is known for it’s heat and humidity sitting between 2 mountain ranges and is perfect for Ostrich farming.
We have booked into a restaurant called Jemima’s tonight which we have been recommended.
Well! All I can say is if you’re in Oudshoorn go for a meal in Jemima’s. We had deep fried camembert with sesame seeds on a bed of figs and deep fried mozzarella with a pesto/olive sauce for starter and sirloin steak and a trio of steak (ostrich, springbok and beef) for main. Simply delicious and the service and ambiance we great too!
Is it just me or do you feel extra tired after a lovely meal. As soon as we returned to the guest house we were ready for bed at 10.15pm.
Ta Ta for now K & M
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ma
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wonderful
ma says that the blogs are wonderful and says well done to you both fur taking the time