Overland Adventure

1. En Route

Not having anything particularly urgent to get done last week, when Walther Meyer of Venture Forth invited me to accompany him on an overland trip with a group of British air cadets, I thought: “well, why not?” The plan was to collect the group at the Port Elizabeth airport, overnight at Tsitsikamma Falls and then spend a couple of days exploring the many diversions around a little town called Oudshoorn, before returning to Cape Town.

As someone who likes to think he knows a little about South Africa, it is with some trepidation that I admit my knowledge of Oudshoorn has been limited, if not libellous. So far as I have always been concerned, Oudshoorn is good for ostriches – and ostriches alone. Okay, and I suppose the Cango Caves. But never having had an overwhelming desire for the company of ostriches, I’ve never seen much of a reason to visit Oudshoorn. How wrong I was.

2. The truck

There really is so much to do in and around Oudshoorn. I’m not alluding to ostrich riding, eating ostrich steaks or buying ostrich shells. The world famous Cango Caves are just out of town and although I generally prefer to avoid tourist traps, these caves are a) incredible and b) relatively quiet – at least in the off season. There is also the Cango Wildlife Ranch, which we visited on our second day (I think I enjoyed this more than our guests did!). Some of the many other activities on offer in and around Oudshoorn include rock climbing, abseiling, caving, mountain biking, hiking and, of course, the ubiquitous ostriches. The town itself has managed to preserve a certain old-world charm and yet has a couple of more than decent restaurants and some fascinating cultural centres.

It was cold, though. The two days before we arrived in Oudshoorn brought in pretty substantial cold front – a front that left the Swartberge (translates as “black mountains”) covered with a thick dusting of snow. This was exquisitely beautiful, but without my trusty down jacket, I suffered. Still, I think the cadets enjoyed their time here and certainly appreciated the gradual increase in temperature as we made our way through the Karoo and down to Cape Town. Here the cadets had a day to sample the delights of the city. This included, obviously, a trip up Table Mountain and a visit to Robben Island. The cadets and their officers were a great bunch – I hope their expedition was everything they were hoping for. Thanks also to Johan Uys of TBI, who hosted us in Oudshoorn, and, of course, to Walther for having me along.

Photos by: Ross Cowlin