http://hiperduct.ac.uk/posts/applications June 21st.
indelibly They're actually quite friendly and will come right up to you.
Oudtshoorn is the first really nice place we’ve seen here. It has trees and finally it feels like we are out of the desert. Lovely old houses on large properties – it reminds me of some prosperous upstate New York towns, but with different details: the houses here are built of sandstone, and their ample wraparound porches have cast-iron filigree, and the lovely gardens surrounding them are filled with tropical plants. The fine 19th century houses and stout stone-built banks downtown are apparently the queer result of European millinery fashions, for there were several decades when women’s hats simply had to have ostrich feathers. Oudtshoorn had the ostrich farms to provide the feathers. The World War ended the trade, and the fashion never returned, but the comfortable homes are still all here, and the town is now a resort of sorts.
We continue to be amazed at the power of the American dollar against the rand – here we can eat in the best restaurants in town, have wine and dessert and steak (or whatever we wish), leave a twice- or thrice-normal tip, and never spend as much as thirty dollars. And there’s never anyone around. The backpackers – the local term for hostel – where we’re staying is empty, as were the restaurants.
Yup, they're racing ostriches.
We went to an ostrich farm just before we left town. It too was empty – we were the only people who showed up for a tour on a Sunday of beautiful weather. The ostrich farm was gorgeously situated, in the midst of farms and vineyards under the brow of gorgeous mountains. We got a tour of the whole ostrich industry: raising the birds for meat, making featherdusters, selling the eggs and eggshells, using ostrich leather, etc. We fed the birds, stood on the eggs (which are almost unbreakable), etc. but the real highlight was watching two men hop on ostriches and race them down a course. The ostriches apparently cannot be steered by any means when they are ridden, so the track has to be long and narrow, but to see these two men holding on to the ostriches for dear life while they took off at thirty miles an hour was quite a sight. It was all over too fast for good pictures, but I have to say I’m glad it exists in the world. I would take a much greater interest in the Triple Crown if people were riding ostriches. There should be a palio for ostriches as well as for horses.
Our guide, Danian, was fabulous but behind it all there lurked a sense that he was wasting away giving ostrich tours. He was intelligent, articulate, and sensitive. He said he was one of eight finalists for the job, and they were given a test and heavily scrutinized, and he got the job. He was glad to have any job at all. But in winter there was little money, because there were so few tourists.
Post a Comment