Tag Archives: Oudtshoorn

Eco-Lite Mini-Trip: Cango Wildlife Ranch, Oudtshoorn

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Are you a busy executive traveling through and need a break from work?  Are you traveling with kids too small to take on expeditions in the bush but want to let them see bird up close?  Do you want a closer look at the birds you saw/will see in the wild?  Then Eco-Lite Mini-Trips are for you!

OVERVIEW

Cango Wildlife Ranch is much more than just an aviary and offers some exciting natural encounters with South African animals. You can pat a cheetah or tiger cub and hold a snake if you want. Bird lovers will enjoy the lorikeet enclosure where you can feed the birds. They are friendly and curious and always hungry!

HOW DO YOU GET THERE?

Cango Wildlife Ranch is a few km out of Oudtshoorn.  A Google map is available.

HOW MUCH IS IT?

Standard Ticket

Adult: R140.00

Child: R90.00 (5 – 13 years)
Premium Ticket (includes entrance and 1 encounter of choice)

Adult: R270.00

Child: R180.00 (5 – 13 years)

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND THERE AND WHAT SHOULD YOU SEE?

We were there for about 2 hours and saw the main attractions and did an Animal Encounter with the cheetahs as you will see in the photos below.  You could easil spend more time here if you want to cover all the animals and do more encounters.

VALUE TO CONSERVATION

Very extensive involvement in several conservation programs.  Details are on their website.

WHERE TO STAY NEARBY ON POINTS

Oudtshoorn is a fairly small town and has no major international chain hotels.  Most people stay in local guesthouses and backpacker places.  You can earn airline miles if you go through PointsHound.

PHOTOS

Through the jaws!

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Meerkat ManorIMG_0566 IMG_0567 IMG_0568 IMG_0572 IMG_0714

Walkway leading to crocodiles, fish tanks and other smaller exhibits.IMG_0734 IMG_0728 IMG_0725 IMG_0726 IMG_0737 IMG_0736 IMG_0718

Big cats have their own large enclosures.IMG_0579 IMG_0580

Tiger cubsIMG_0585 IMG_0670 IMG_0669 IMG_0667

Stunning eyes!IMG_0666 IMG_0675 IMG_0676 IMG_0662

Lorikeet Aviary – you can feed them and they will come to you.IMG_0588 IMG_0590 IMG_0600 IMG_0604 IMG_0606 IMG_0611 IMG_0616 IMG_0619 IMG_0636 IMG_0640 IMG_0651

Snack barIMG_0663 IMG_0664

Animal Encounter with Cheetahs.  This costs extra but is worth it!  The money raised goes to their conservation fund.IMG_0709 IMG_0707 IMG_0704 IMG_0702 IMG_0697 IMG_0683

Short Break In Oudtshoorn, South Africa

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If you are heading from Cape Town to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Oudtshoorn is a nice place to break the journey.  There are plenty of attractions here to occupy a tourist for a couple days.

Oudshoorn is a small town and has no hotels available on points.  You can EARN points by finding a place on PointsHound or look on any other hotel booking engine.  We were there back in 2009 so this is a historical post and unfortunately I don’t seem to have any photos of the guest house we stayed in.  I can’t even remember the name!  It was pretty cheap, around $40 a night.

Oudtshoorn is known for ostrich farms and also for ostrich cuisine.  One egg can feed around 12 people and some backpacker places will do ostrich omelets.  Ostrich meat is served everywhere and is more like a red meat than poultry.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN OUDTSHOORN

CANGO CAVES

You enter the caves in small groups with guides who operate the light effects.  It’s really stunning!

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OSTRICH FARM

This was an interesting visit and we did get very up close and personal with some ostriches.  Some of the souvenirs creeped me out.  Who would buy a dead baby ostrich in an egg shell?

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CANGO WILDLIFE PARK

There is so much to see here, I am giving it an post on its own!