Fascinating ostrich ranch worth a visit

A WEEK before our visit to the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch I was bombarded with questions by my six-year-old, most of which I cheated my way through thanks to Google.

“Why do ostriches dig their heads in the sand?” Or “What do they eat, do they sleep standing up?” To say that he was excited was an understatement. He even went to bed early the night before so that the day could come faster.

The next day we bundled the kids into the car and headed towards the West Coast road.

Anyone who zips down the N7 should know the big sign by now saying “No hooting, ostriches getting laid”. I always chuckle silently to myself when passing it, but it never occurred to me to actually see what it’s about. I have also always associated these clumsy looking flightless birds with the dry Karoo.

My first encounter with one was when I was about six or seven with my parents taking me to Oudtshoorn Ostrich Ranch, and what I can remember was the feeling of utter dread. I didn’t want to be near to one.

The ranch is divided into two sections – most will be familiar with the events section which mostly hosts outdoor concerts.

The part we visited is where the real magic happens.

Perched on a grassy hill, visitors are greeted by white Dutchstyle buildings housing the restaurant and information centre, which also has a curio shop and leather workshop.

There’s also a great big lawn for the kids to play on and a play area.

Our tour guide, Herman, originally from the Congo, full of knowledge, taking us through the information centre at the beginning of our tour and explaining everything in bite-size pieces so the kids could take it all in.

And the thing I liked about it was that it was actually stuff the little ones wanted to know about, like did you know ostriches eat