We're in Oudtshoorn, the ostrich capital of the universe, and a very nice town in the semi-arid "klein karoo," which, as far as I can ascertain, means small area of semi-arid vegetation. Just over the mountains is the large karoo. Besides ostriches, there's a thriving wine industry here, as well.
But ostriches rule.
We passed ostrich farm after ostrich farm, as well as an ostrich safari (not quite sure how that works), and just down the road from the B&B where we're staying we could climb aboard and race ostriches.
We passed on that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and decided instead to tackle yet another unpaved road - Swartberg Pass.
Swartberg (which means "black mountain") is a World Heritage Site and was constructed in the 1880's using convict labor.
One of the notable features are the dry-stack stone walls that are still standing and functional after more than 125 years, although repairs are made periodically. These stones were shaped with hammers and chisels, moved into place on the steep slopes with wheelbarrows, and then fitted together by hand.
It's hard to imagine how they accomplished this without any modern equipment.
Our route back to Oudtshoorn included going through a beautiful gorge - we will be back this way when we head back north.
Our B&B in Oudtshoorn has a pool - we've spent the afternoons reading in the lounge chairs.
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