Oudtshoorn is located in the Little (Klein) Karoo, a vast land of natural wonders in the Western Cape. Nestled in a scenic valley between the Outeniqua Mountains and the Great Swartberg range, it's a dry, semi-arid region that lies east of the Cape Winelands and inland of the beautiful coastline of the Garden Route.
Once a quiet backwater town, it’s now one of the most popular tourist destinations on the famous Garden Route. Oudtshoorn is renowned for its unique and unrivaled scenic beauty. There are three reasons to visit Oudtshoorn: ostriches, caves and mountains.
An overview of Oudtshoorn.
Where is Oudtshoorn?
Oudtshoorn is a thriving agricultural hub in the north-east region of the Western Cape in South Africa and falls within the legendary Cape Winelands. It’s one of 5 popular towns in the Little Karoo, otherwise known as the Klein Karoo. This includes Montagu, Barrydale, Ladismith and Calitzdorp.
The low-lying region is semi-arid as the surrounding mountains absorb much of the air’s moisture. At the same time, the Little Karoo is breathtakingly-beautiful with a diverse ecology that comprises towering cliffs, endless fertile farmlands, desert-like landscapes and crystal-clear lakes and streams.
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The Little Karoo is bounded by the Langeberg Mountains to the southwest and is separated from the Great Karoo by the dramatic Swartberg Mountains to the north. A scenic drive from Oudtshoorn to the coastal towns of the Garden Route takes you over the beautiful Swartberg Pass.
The most popular route to Oudtshoorn is the famous Route 62. It takes visitors off the busy N2 highway and on a gorgeous drive from Cape Town to the major attractions of the Garden Route, ending at Port Elizabeth.
The 850-kilometre route is also known as the “longest wine route in the world” because as you wind your way from Cape Town to the popular coastal towns of the Garden Route, you are never too far from some of the South Africa’s best wine-producing regions.
Why You Should Visit Oudtshoorn
There are three reasons why you should visit Oudtshoorn: ostriches, caves and mountains. The picturesque town is famous for:
- the largest population of farmed ostriches in the world,
- Cango Caves, an impressive series of dripstone caverns found in Precambrian limestone and
- Swartberg Pass, one of the finest gravel mountain passes in the world.
Oudtshoorn was established in 1847 on the banks of the Grobbelaars River and grew from being a backwater rural farming community to a thriving agricultural hub. In the early days, sheep and goat farming in the arid Karoo district was most common but ostrich farming and lately tourism put the picturesque town on the map.
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The farming town has struggled at different times with the ‘boom and bust’ of the ostrich-farming industry. The Little Karoo farmers are resilient and the farming district has managed to bounce back. Today, Oudtshoorn is one of South Africa’s most popular tourist destinations in the Western Cape.
A visit to a working ostrich farm to meet these quirky birds and sample authentic Karoo ostrich dishes always goes hand-in-hand with a tour of Cango Caves.
Visit a Working Ostrich Farm
Ostrich farming in South Africa took off in the 1860s to protect the bird species from over-hunting for the feather fashion trade. The trend spread to countries such as Egypt, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Argentina but after some extreme highs and lows in the global industry, South Africa today has the monopoly on ostrich farming.
No trip to Oudtshoorn is complete without a visit to a working ostrich farm where you can go on a fascinating ostrich tour and end with a delicious meal of authentic ostrich cuisine. You’ll get to meet these quirky birds and learn more about their mating rituals, egg incubation and seriously odd eating habits.
A tour of an ostrich farm is not only educational, it’s great fun for the whole family. Visitors can feed ostriches by hand, look at the gizzard stones that come out of an ostrich stomach and visit the egg incubators and breeding camps.
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You can also watch crazy ostrich races if you happen to be there when the farm labourers show off their feathery racing steads and you have the opportunity to watch the artisans at work creating beautiful pieces using the valuable feathers, eggs and leather of the ostriches.
There are over 400 ostrich farms in the ostrich-farming district of the Little Karoo.
Top Ostrich Show Farms in Oudtshoorn
The three most popular ostrich show farms are:
- Highgate Ostrich Show Farm
- Safari Ostrich Show Farm
- Cango Ostrich Show Farm
All three ostrich farms are located on the R328 in Schoemanshoek, Oudtshoorn.
Visiting an ostrich farm is one of the most popular things to do in Oudtshoorn.
Visit the Cango Caves
The famous Cango Caves lie at the foothills of the towering Swartberg (black mountain) Mountains, about 30 kilometres from the centre of Oudtshoorn. This incredible subterranean landmark consists of an extensive series of dripstone caverns that were formed over millions of years.
The great caverns were created by water that flowed through fissures in the Precambrian limestone and seeped through cracks in the earth’s face. The water scoured and dissolved the rock and limestone to create one of the great natural wonders of the world.
To begin with, only about one kilometre of the vast cave system was accessible to explore. It’s now known that the Cango Caves extends for well over 5 kilometres and could be even bigger than that. About a quarter of the cave system is open to visitors, the rest is closed for conservation.
How the Cango Caves were Discovered
Legend has it that a local farmer, Jacobus van Zyl, was lowered into the unexplored cavern in 1780 with only a burning torch to find out what lay beneath the rocky formations. Van Zyl found a cavern so vast that the light of his torch could not reach its distant walls.
The main hall of Cango Caves is known as Van Zyl’s Hall in his honour although research has shown that no-one by that name lived in the district at that time.
The first tour of Cango Caves was conducted in 1891 which makes the caves the oldest tourist attraction in South Africa. It was also the first to be protected by environmental legislations where a ban was placed on collecting souvenirs (breaking off pieces of stalagmites and stalactites) and fines were issued to anyone caught damaging the cave walls.
The most significant discoveries at Cango Caves were made by its first full-time guide, Johnnie van Wassenaar, who served as a guide for 43 years. Van Wassenaar opened many side chambers and introduced thousands of people to the world-famous caves.
Over the years, more and more chambers and tunnels have been discovered. Altogether, the Cango Caves are estimated to be about 1 000 metres long. The biggest chamber stretches some 300 metres.
Cango I, II and III
- Cango I: The first survey was done in 1897 and mapped out the first 26 chambers. The results indicated the caves were 775 metres long in a single line. Cango I is the only part of the Cango Caves that is open to the public. The nearest point to the surface is at the top of the shaft in what is called the Devil’s Kitchen.
- Cango II: Cango II was discovered in 1972. It stretches 279 metres beyond the end of the Devil’s Kitchen and ends with a shaft that drops 20 metres into a chamber filled with water. The water flows in the direction of Cango I.
- Cango III: Cango III was discovered in 1975 when an exploration team drained the Cango II chamber of most of its water.
Fascinating Facts About the Cango Caves
The Cango Caves is located in a limestone belt which is 1.5 kilometres wide and about 16 kilometres long. The limestone was formed by chemical processes over a period of some 20 million years. It does not consist of animal shells and contains no fossils which means the limestone belt has always remained under the earth’s surface.
The vast cave system was formed by rainwater that dissolved the limestone to create an extensive network of subterranean caves and tunnels. The acidic oxygen in the rainwater created a crystalline solution when it came into contact with the calcium carbonate of the limestone. The solution hardened and eventually accumulated as gigantic stalagmites, stalactites and flowstones.
There is evidence that the ancient San (Bushmen) lived and sheltered in the caves for at least 80 000 years. The entrance to the vast cave system would have provided shelter and protection from the elements and predators. A fine collection of vivid Bushman paintings in the caves tell a tale of their daily lives and wild animals in the area.
A tour of Cango Caves takes you 1-kilometres into the most-accessible section of the cave system. You can chose the Heritage Tour which is not too taxing, or the Adventure Tour where you have to clamber through some of the cave tunnels on your hands and knees.
A knowledgeable guide conducts the tours which takes between 1 to 2-hours to complete, depending on the type of tour. There’s a good restaurant and souvenir shop at the administration centre where you can grab a bite to eat and drinks after the Cango Cave tour.
Cango Caves Tour Options
- Cango Caves Heritage Tour: Approximately 1-hour long. Involves a moderate walk through the first two magnificent halls and continues to the African Drum Chamber. There are several staircases to climb down and up on the Heritage Tour.
- Cango Caves Adventure Tour: Approximately 1.5 hours long. Involves crawling through narrow tunnels and climbing up steep rock formations guided by small lights. From the two large main caverns, the Adventure Tour snakes along passageways with names like Lumbago Walk, Devil’s Chimney and the Letter Box.
The smallest passageway that visitors have to crawl through is just under 30 centimeters high and some of the narrow passages are quite challenging. This means the Adventure Tour is limited to visitors of a certain weight and fitness.
What to See at the Cango Caves
- Van Zyl’s Hall: Van Zyl’s Hall is over 70 metres long, 35 metres wide and reaches a height of 17 metres. The breathtaking cave is veiled by a striking grey-blue dolomite ceiling and illuminated to expose magical centerpieces such as the 10-metre high Cleopatra’s Needle, the Organ Pipes, the Ballerina and the Frozen Waterfall.
- Botha’s Hall: Botha’s Hall is about the size of a football field with a ceiling 18-metres high off the cave floor. It’s one of the largest and most impressive caverns open to the public. It’s named in honour of Commandant Botha who was the first custodian of the Cango Caves.
The most famous feature in the massive cavern is the Madonna and Child. It’s a striking formation that resembles the figure of Mary cradling her baby in her arms.
Another impressive feature is a 13-metre high stalactite that is estimated to have developed over some 250 000 years. It’s grown upwards to join with a descending stalagmite to create a unique formation.
The Throne Room is dominated by a magnificent dripstone stalagmite, known as the Throne. You’ll also find other perfect examples of rimstone pools, flowstone, curtains, stalagmites and stalactites that have been created by calcite processes.
The limestone curtains in the Throne Room were formed by the capillary action of calcium-bearing water between two slight protrusions over thousands of years. They add a dramatic backdrop to the Throne Room and are illuminated to create an ethereal atmosphere.
The Cango Caves are a must-see attraction near Oudtshoorn.
Drive up Swartberg Pass (R328 / P0369)
Scenic Drive in South Africa 4K | Snow on the Swartberg Pass | Driving Oudtshoorn to Prince Albert
The magnificent Swartberg Pass is 27-kilometres long and is regarded as one of the most breathtakingly-beautiful mountain passes in the world. The untarred gravel road winds up to the summit that lies 1 583 above sea level, with steep zigzag turns and sudden switchbacks which reveal incredible views at every corner.
Swartberg means ‘black mountain’ in Afrikaans. The impressive mountain range lies between the picturesque town of Prince Albert and Oudtshoorn and takes about an hour to drive, including stops.
For a long time, the imposing mountain range created an impenetrable barrier which separated the Great Karoo from the Little Karoo and the coastal towns of the east coast of South Africa. Today, there are three major gateways that link the two regions: Swartberg Pass, Meiringspoort and Seweweekspoort.
Interesting Facts About the Swartberg Pass
The Swartberg Pass was declared a National Monument in 1998 which marked its Centenary year. It’s the Rubicon of gravel road passes and a trademark of the brilliant and famous road engineer, Thomas Charles Bain. In fact, it was Thomas Bain’s final and best piece of road building.
Thomas Bain was the son of the famous Andrew Geddes Bain who built Bain’s Kloof Pass, an historic pass that links Cape Town with Wellington in the interior.
Swartberg Pass was built between 1881 and 1888 using a squad of some 200 convict labourers. It was torturous work for these convicts. Large rocks were broken up by heating them with fire and then pouring cold water over them. The smaller rocks were crushed by hand using sledgehammers.
The building of Swartberg Pass followed the father and son’s earlier construction of another pass on the same mountain range called Meiringspoort. It’s located further east of Swartberg Pass and was opened in 1858.
The first traffic to drive over Swartberg Pass in 1886 were carts and wagons.
The Swartberg Nature Reserve that surrounds the famous mountain pass was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
Driving up Swartberg Pass, you climb about 1 000 metres in 12 kilometres. The road is gravel and sand and can be treacherous in places. You don’t need a high-clearance 4-wheel vehicle to drive over Swartberg Pass but it is recommended to make it a less scary journey.
It can get extremely cold at the top of the Swartberg Pass in the winter months or if a cold front is moving to the region. Pack warm clothes for your trip to the Swartberg Pass because you never know what temperatures you’ll experience at the top of the mountain.
The Swartberg Pass offers breathtaking views.
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