After a lovely breakfast in the dining room, we were off, but not before taking the small package of rusks along with us for a snack. Nearly everywhere we go, there is coffee service in our room and a package of rusks, a pre-breakfast snack.
We continued east on R62, driving through more scenic mountains and mountain passes. We are in the Little Karoo region of South Africa. It is a semi-arid desert area and reminds us a lot of our travels in Sicily and the areas around Las Vegas.
Aside from the rest stops where you can buy drinks and lunch, there are little picnic areas along R62. No toilets, just a table and some seats, and if you're lucky a tree or a canopy to shade you.
Our first stop was in Ladismith. We had been told that much of the South African cheese is produced in Ladismith so we wanted to stop and buy some. It was also about time for a bathroom break. We bought some cheese at one of the cheese places which was next door to a small Cafe. We decided to take a break and order a meat pie, which are very ubiquitous in these parts. I spotted two people drinking what I thought were tall glasses of fruit juices. We were told they were milkshakes. Denis decided to try a lime milkshake. After this stop, we didn't really need lunch.
Our next stop was a town called Calitzdorp. It is now for ruby wines, known as port in Portugal. We had been recommended to two different stops. De Krans, where we might have had a lovely lunch had we been hungry, was our first stop. We tasted a number of wines and had a really lovely time chatting with the wine pourer.
The second stop was down the street at Boplaas. They produce wine, ruby wines, and spirits. We tasted all of their ports and Denis walked away with a bottle of their 2018 vintage for $20! We hope to be able to get it home.
Onto Oudtshoorn, where we will be staying for the night. The primary reason for coming here is an early morning meerkat tour (more about that tomorrow). We arrived early enough to take an Ostrich Farm tour. It wasn't high in my list of things to do but its proximity to DeZeeko and the time we had before dinner made it more attractive.
The farm has raised ostrich for three generations. They farm them for meat, fat, which is used in beauty products, leather, used primary in purses and belts, and feathers. People begin raising ostriches in the 1860s, primarily for the feathers. This area became the ostrich capital of the world producing 80 to 90% of all the world's ostrich feathers. There were ostrich barons who built ostrich palaces. After World War II, the ostrich feather industry collapsed. The farmers began to pivot to providing meat and leather. It took a while but today, once again 80 to 90% of all ostrich products come from South Africa.
Of course, one of the things to do is feed the ostriches. We complied.
First we fed the ostriches, later they fed us. How could we miss having ostrich filet and ostrich Bobotie?
We have another lovely view from our room. I sat on the porch writing this and being seranaded by birds as the sun went down (can you find the small orange dot?)
Our last activity for the day was star gazing. We went out with an amateur astronomer who pointed out various star clusters and constellations. We also got a good look at Saturn and its rings. It is a bit hazy so slightly disappointing given how far out we are. Still, star gazing is always a wonderment.
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