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Situated only twenty minutes from Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, the Westcoast Ostrich Show Ranch is a popular tourist destination offering informative tours with a high quality, great value leather and curio shops and an ostrich meat orientated restaurant. The business is family owned and run, with Gavin and his son, Pawel, on hand to greet visitors.
The farm lies on the sea facing slopes of the Durbanville Hills, which offer magnificent views of Table Mountain and the Hottentots Holland Mountains, an area steeped in local history.
History reveals that ostrich chicks were traded by the original Khoi inhabitants with the Dutch Settlers in 1652 and exported from Cape Town to Batavia (now Indonesia) in 1656. Ostriches were also exported to India and the Emperor of Japan in 1658.
The first documented ostrich farm was established in the centre of Cape Town in 1679.
The Westcoast Ostrich Ranch has pioneered the revival of ostrich farming in the shadow of Table Mountain (Hoerikwagga). Guided tours in English, Afrikaans, German and Frenchare on offer. The tour comprises a forty-five minute informative trail that includes a visit to the display room, the leather factory and the cactus garden. The tour travels through the ostrich breeding enclosures and it is not uncommon to see a newly hatched chick or to witness an egg being laid.
The ranch has over 220 birds ranging from one day old chicks to 20 year old breeding couples.
The ranch stocks a variety of ostrich species and other birds, which include, the Westcoast white ostrich, dwarf ostriches, black-neck ostriches, emus, rheas and peacocks. The highlight of the trail is the ostrich show, where each member of the tour has the opportunity to sit on a live ostrich, stand on an ostrich egg and feed an ostrich. Tea and coffee is included.
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The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, SANCCOB is a non-profit sea bird rehabilitation centre based in Cape Town. Their primary focus is to conserve and protect South Africa's sea birds, especially threatened species, for the benefit of present and future generations.
SANCCOB rehabilitate ill, injured, oiled and orphaned sea birds on a daily basis, prepare for and manage the rehabilitation of sea birds during a major oil spill, raise awareness about conservation through environmental education and collaborate on research projects. SANCCOB has treated more than 83 000 sea birds throughout the last 37 years.
Private groups may book an exclusive “behind the scenes” tour at SANCCOB. The tour includes a short video about the infamous Treasure oil spill and a tour of select areas of SANCCOB’s rehabilitation centre. Please note that some areas of the centre are restricted. Tours are 45 minutes in length. The maximum number of people per group is 8.
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