Oudtshoorn

850,000 ostriches, outnumbering people about 10:1.  Oudtshoorn claims to be the ostrich capital of the world.  I doubt anyone else is vying for that one.  The world's biggest bird is the oddly-named city's biggest tourist attraction.  Far removed from ostrich on safari, we have explored this African oddity to its up-close-and-personal fullest including feeding it, riding it and eating it.  Kirsten has even been bitten by it.  And while we've been tempted for weeks to purchase a beautiful ostrich egg shell as a souvenir, I'm glad we waited, having bought an ostrich egg, with the 'egg' in it that is, at the grocery for $2.75 USD:  the equivalent of two dozen chicken eggs and three dozen's worth of cholesterol in case you're counting.

We've visited the Wilgewandel Holiday Farm &  Cango Wildlife Ranch, both mega-tourist-African-petting-zoos of sorts, each boasting "supernatural encounters!" "sheer thrills!" and "great family fun!" that for us included a family camel ride, white tigers in Africa, meerkats (Chloe's favorite), and, in Kirsten's case, opportunity to be bitten by the aforementioned ostrich.

Chloe, who's never even been on a horse, had been expressing much interest in a chance to ride.  Her equestrian introduction...lessons?  No way.  How 'bout horseback safari!  We love Africa for its opportunities and no trip to Oudtshoorn

 would be complete without the "unique bushveld experience" of Buffelsdrift Game Lodge where one need not even ask if it's okay to bring an eight-year-old with no riding experience cantering

 along among wildebeest, rhino and buffalo.  Needless to say both kids loved it and neither was thrown, trampled or eaten.

Among the highlights of our adventures here, though, was a spectacular trip through Cango Caves.  The 20-million year old caverns are billed as an ecological, archeological and historical landmark; one of the "Seven Wonders of Southern Africa"

 according to the brochure.  Our tour is described as "challenging", "requiring a degree of fitness" and as being for "lean people

 only."  No exaggerations here.  It was tough, a bit scary and fairly physically demanding.  The kids loved it, scrambling from one cave to another, but, of course, they fit, so it doesn't count.  It sure looked like I wouldn't fit.  One can't appreciate the small, dark hole called "Chimney" from the tidy diagram pictured, a neat sign presented in the lobby after I had wedged myself up, not on the cavern wall next to the small, dark hole allowing normal-sized humans to make a rational decision about wedging.  But for illustration, let's review included statistics and descriptions.  Approximately "3,6 m upwards crawl" translates to way more than ten feet pretty much vertical.  "Chimney-like feature" resembles a chimney only in

 that it is tight, dark and vertical while the "like" modifier describes that it is wet, slick and irregular.  "Average diameter of 90 cm" means it averages 35 inches and I hope for some uniformity in the statistic such that my 34-inch ass doesn't get stuck.  Luckily I did fit, emerging from the other end exhausted, panting, soaked and battered.  This is one of those things they would definitely never allow you to do in the USA.  Not even with a license and waiver and hefty fee.  Especially not the eight-year-old.  She loved it the most!