The Little Karoo & Oudtshoorn
The Little Karoo & Oudtshoorn
The South African Little Karoo was for decades completely impassable due the continuous series of mountains and deep valleys. As more settlers arrived from Europe during the 19th century, they started to build many passes through the Western Cape Mountains and thereby opening up the interior of the country. Here begins the history of the largest town of the Little Karoo – Oudtshoorn.This town was originally set up by British farmers during the middle of the 19th century and later two major fashion booms for Ostrich feathers put Oudtshoorn on the map. Between 1865 and 1914 it became the most important town east of Cape Town and the Ostrich feathers were selling for more than their equivalent weight in gold. In more recent times farmers make a fortune out of Ostrich leather and their meat sells extremely well.
Unlike the Great Karoo in the north, the Little Karoo is made up of a series of scenic valleys, surrounded by the huge Swartberg Mountains in the north and the beautiful Langerberg and Outeniqua rangers in the south. The spectacular country side is blessed with attractive and curious little towns. The main road that runs through the Little Karoo is the Quirky Route 62 and marketed by Western Cape Tourism as the longest wine route in the world.
Oudtshoorn town has very wide old fashioned streets with very smart Victorian sandstone houses. The town has several “ Ostrich Palaces “ which were built by the feather barons during the 40 year feather boom that came to an abrupt end at the start of the 1st world war. Most International tourists make a stop off in Oudtshoorn on their way up the Garden Route. The main attraction of the town would be a visit to one of the many Ostrich farms and a chance to have a ride on one of these powerful birds. The next stop and one the best tourist attractions in the region is definitely the world famous Cango Caves. The caves are hidden away in the Swartberg Mountains and are a magnificent network of caverns which are probably the best examples of dripstone systems in the world. The Cango Caves are full of weird and wonderful Stalagmites and Stalagtites.The caves themselves are extremely old and many of the Stalagmite formations have taken over a million years to form. Tours of the caves only take limited numbers so be prepared to wait up to an hour for your turn and be sure to have suitable walking shoes as the underground surfaces can be a little uneven.
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