A trip to Oudtshoorn - part 1

A few months ago Grant heard that he would be going to the World Trials for Dancing to be held in Oudtshoorn and seeing as it overlapped with the school holidays we decided that the girls and I would go along and have a little holiday in the Klein Karoo!


Finally the day arrived that we were to leave for our first family holiday in more than 4 years - very exciting!! I don't think Niave can remember the last time we went away!
With a 6 hour drive ahead of us we set off on Thursday morning with what seemed like all our worldly possessions! Actually I was amazed that we fitted everything in - including a wheelchair without using a trailer, but there was even room to spare - quite something if you know that I don't pack light!! I believe in being over prepared!!!!


I'd forgotten what a beautiful countryside we have and the vista's were breathtaking.

After seeing many fields full of sheep, cows, the odd horse and miles of bright yellow Canola we were not expecting to see 2 elephants in a field just outside Albertinia! 
At first I thought "wow, that is a really big horse"!! and then realized that they were elephants, Grant nearly crashed the car!!!

None of us have ever seen game before so it was quite a moment!!

After a loooooong drive we arrived in Oudtshoorn at sunset and found our "home" for the weekend - Klein Plaas (Small Farm).

It was a lovely place, very comfortable accommodation for a very reasonable price.

There are about 50 chalet's and a lovely caravan/camping area beautifully shaded, with a lovely pool and pristine ablution block.

(Emmy, this is the answer to our "wheelchair friendly campsite with chalet's" problem! Just a bit far:-))

After we arrived and unloaded our car, we drove into town to find supper and get a few supplies at Pick 'n Pay, by then it was cold and dark and we were exhausted after the long drive so we set up Grant's laptop to play a DVD and hibernated inside!!


Initially Grant had thought he'd be dancing on Friday and Saturday, but as it turned out he had Friday free and would only need to dance on Saturday afternoon/evening.
So on Friday morning we headed to the only wheelchair friendly spot on our list: The Cango Wildlife Ranch (formerly the Cango Crocodile Farm) - and only 2km from our chalet!!

It was a bit pricey but in hindsight we realised that it was worth it - a very interesting, well presented place, the best I've seen in S.A. so far.
Our tour was in the morning with the sun in just the wrong spot but the girls and I went back in the late afternoon and got some much better pics:

These baby crocs are kinda cute, in an eerie kinda way!

Cape Vulture - enormous!

And we found King Julian!!

Not quite as cute as their offspring but just as eerie!! They were so still, hard to tell if they were even breathing, apparently they don't get fed between April and September because their metabolism is so slow in winter that they get poisoned by whatever they eat, these guys have got "least amount of energy exertion" down to a tee!!

This gorgeous Otter gave us a real show, swimming and diving like a pro! So cute!

The 2 pygmy hippo's were lying so still at first, they could've been fake - or dead, but when we came back in the late afternoon, they had surfaced from their slumber and were contemplating the water.

Then it was on to Cheetah Land, where they keep the big cats, about 6 cheetah's - Niave's favourite;

2 leopards - so beautiful

and a pair of white lions, this male was guarding his ribcage very closely! He looks so cuddly but then you realise that his paw is the size of your child's head and he's not so cuddly any more!!

My favourite photo of the trip!

Of all the cats, I liked the white tigers the best. 

They were feasting on fresh donkey head when we arrived, ears and fur included!! When we went back later they were so stuffed that they were lying on their backs, feet in the air!!

All that remained of the donkey was it's skull - stripped clean.

There were also a number of smaller, non-deadly animals and a petting zoo.
There is also a snake exhibit, but my camera didn't cope well with the lighting and glass barrier.

All in all a very good outing and one that I can definitely recommend if you find yourself in Oudtshoorn or surrounds.