Crazy ostriches & a coastal storm disrupts plans

We left the town of George and headed north through the Outeniqua Pass on our quest to find Ostriches. The quaint town of Oudtshoorn is famous for Ostrich farming and a place called Cango Caves (which is apparently worth the visit, but we'd already visited the oldest caves in the world, which was absolutely awesome, so we didn't want to end up spending money and being disappointed. Also, there's only so many caves you can do before interest wanes). But we did want to see Ostriches.

Only 1 hour from George we arrived at the Safari Ostrich Farm. There are a few farms about that welcome the public, and they all look good, but the Safari farm provided the opportunity to see these big birds out in their paddock rather than just meeting them in a holding pen, and that seemed a nicer idea all round, plus we got to go in safari trailer pulled by a tractor! What's not to love?

We had reserved spots for the Safari tour in advance (I think they recommend this) and rocked up 15 minutes early. While we waited, I had a rummage around the shop on site. The farm is a business and rears Ostrich for meat. But they also promote and sell

Ostrich leather goods, and Jewellery made from the feathers, shell and leather. There are painted, carved ostrich egg shells, and some have been turned into lamps and other items. Great to see that there are other industries that have been generated, ensuring that more of the animal is seen as a valuable commodity.

The tour was really enjoyable and very informative. We hopped into the Safari trailer and while touring the larger paddocks, the Ostrich's occasionally wandered over and had a look at us. We were allowed to feed them with special feed which was an hilarious experience not for the faint hearted! I held the pot of feed out and this giant bird literally attacked it, bobbing its head rapidly and I have to say quite violently into the

feed pot. It threw more feed on the floor and over me than it managed to grab in its beak. These birds have not yet evolved an efficient way of eating. And they are so greedy! Apparently their eye ball is bigger than their brain, so they're not climbing the food chain any time soon.

Having gotten to know the birds, we then ventured to the in-house restaurant to sample them. I had an Ostrich burger and Gaz had Ostrich fillet. It was delicious and I would definitely have it again. Weird to think that only a couple of years ago I was vegetarian.

We drove back to the coast and headed west towards Mossel Bay. The journey was beautiful, passing incredible landscapes through and around the mountains. Lots of photo opps, so i was yelling STOP! at gaz every 5 minutes, probably doubling the journey time.

Mossel Bay was a little disappointing, I had imagined a nicer looking town and something more seaside like but it's just a large town like any other really. It looks amazing and every inviting as you drive towards it along the coast, but the reality didn't turn out so great, probably because the place we were staying was marketed as 'Sandstone Manor' an old supposedly historic double fronted house filled with original features and antique furniture etc... overlooking the bay. Well, we arrived to double security gates on the doors, and a sign that said go to reception at the Bay Backpackers next door. Ok. So the grumpy bloke on reception reluctantly (it seemed) checked us in and showed us to the room next door. It was not luxurious and not very clean to be honest. There was no view of the bay, though you could see the sea, and there were a number of questionable characters about outside and I just didn't feel too safe.

We spent two nights at Sandstone Manor. It was clearly not a guesthouse but was just an extension of the backpackers next door, with no reception, no atmosphere, and few facilities. There weren't many people staying, which meant we had the kitchen all to ourselves, but noise travels in old buildings and we were amused to hear the cliche bed springs from the bedroom above providing the background rhythm to our evening. At least we knew there were other people in this place - which made it a bit less creepy.

The harbour was a nice little place. We considered going out on a super fast speedboat but were told that because it was out of season the boats weren't going out. We could join a whale watching cruise in 30 minutes but that was something I had planned to do in Hermanus our next overnight stop, so we spent some time drinking coffee in a beach bar and watching a seal play in the water nearby.

Our next stop was a small place called Agulhas. We'd never heard of it before, and suspect many reading this wont have either, BUT dear reader take note... Agulhas is officially the most southerly point in Africa. It is also the point where the Indian ocean and the Atlantic ocean meet. It is generally thought that the most southerly point is the Cape of Good Hope, but that is wrong. So, in your next pub quiz remember the town of Agulhas.

The day we visited Agulhas the weather turned ugly and whilst the wind and rain eased enough for us to venture out and take pics posing at the point, the weather didn't ease for long and we drove into Hermanus and checked into our Backpackers near the coast promenade in a squall.

The squall quickly developed into a terrible gale that lasted nearly 48 hours. It rained heavily non-stop and the wind howled all day and all night. Nothing was open. No food delivery services were operating. There was a Steers burger joint about 100m away and Gaz ventured out once to grab us something to eat. He came back like a drowned rat, with food in a paper bag that was barely keeping its shape, but it was food (ish) and we were desperate.

As the storm continued, the power went out to the whole town because the peninsula power infrastructure had been damaged and the reception informed us that they were concerned that the water was also at risk of running out. It was a worry, but luckily the water remained on, even if we had to live in the dark without power for a day.

And what is there to do in the dark when everything is shut? Well, luckily, the wine bar 3 doors down had a backup generator, so like a beacon showing us the way, we were drawn by the lights and took up residence at the bar and pickled ourselves in wine for two consecutive evenings while the storm continued outside.

Hermanus is renowned for its whale watching and had been something I had been looking forward to all trip, but the weather gods were seriously against us and taking a boat out wasn't anywhere near likely. The morning we checked out, the sky was clear and the sun was out (sods law). We had to leave on time because the hire car needed to be dropped off, so whale watching just wasn't going to happen. I was so disappointed, but things happen so you roll with it.

Unfortunately we found we were completely trapped in Hermanus. Every road we ventured down ended in road block and long traffic jams. There were terrible floods, landslides and bridge collapses everywhere we turned. Eventually we had to accept that we weren't going to make it to Cape Town. We then had the challenge of finding a place to stay back in Hermanus, but everyone was doing the same thing, so accommodation was not easy to come by. We ended up driving all the way back to the backpackers and although the power wasn't on, it was a place to stay.

We had to extend our car rental and postpone our booking in the city, but it all worked out. We took advantage of having a little time in Hermanus and wandered the promenade watching whales surface and play just off shore. We may not have made it out on a boat to see them close up, but seeing them swimming so close to the shore was amazing anyway. The power came back on in the late afternoon, so we also managed to find a great steakhouse restaurant and make the most of the evening.

The next day we made it through the traffic exodus from the region and reached our final destination of our South Africa trip, Cape Town.