For most visitors, the answer comes down to three names: Highgate Ostrich Show Farm, Cango Ostrich Show Farm, and Safari Ostrich Farm. Each runs interactive, family-friendly tours with feeding demonstrations and factory visits. The one move that saves you the most hassle: book your slot in advance and ask upfront whether a meal or factory tour is included, especially if you're pairing the visit with Cango Caves the same day.
TL;DR:
- Visiting Highgate Ostrich Show Farm offers a full experience with historical insights, farm tours, factory visits, and meal packages that can turn into lunch.
- Cango Ostrich Show Farm's proximity to Cango Caves makes it ideal for a combined day trip, with interactive feeding and closer contact during farm tours.
- Safari Ostrich Farm suits visitors with limited time or transport, offering quick, straightforward tours close to Oudtshoorn's center.
- Booking farm visits in advance is recommended, especially for meal-inclusive slots and group discounts, to avoid sold-out demonstrations during peak seasons.
- Combining farm visits with Cango Caves and other Klein Karoo experiences can be planned as half-day or full-day itineraries, anchored around fixed cave tour times.
Table of Contents
- The Main Oudtshoorn Ostrich Farms Worth Visiting
- What Happens on a Typical Ostrich Show-Farm Tour?
- Ticket Prices, Hours, and Getting to the Farms
- Staying Safe Around the Birds
- Pairing a Farm Visit With Cango Caves and Other Klein Karoo Stops
- How Im-at Helps You Book the Whole Trip in One Place
- A Note on How These Farms Were Chosen
- Book Your Oudtshoorn Day, and the Rest of the Trip, Through Im-at
- Sources
The Main Oudtshoorn Ostrich Farms Worth Visiting
Oudtshoorn earned its nickname, the "Ostrich Capital of the World," during the feather boom of the early 1900s, and the show farms operating today are living remnants of that era. Three stand out for visitor experience, and each has a distinct personality.
Highgate Ostrich Show Farm dates back to 1938, making it one of the oldest operations still welcoming tourists. The farm runs traditional ostrich tours with feeding demonstrations, factory and shop visits, and meal packages, so you can turn a farm stop into a full lunch outing if you plan around it. Guides walk you through the breeding pens, explain the birds' unusual biology (yes, you'll hear about their eyesight and their kick), and finish at the factory floor where feathers, leather, and egg products get turned into souvenirs. Highgate also shows up consistently on local business directories with current contact details, which is worth checking before you drive out, since farm hours shift seasonally.
Cango Ostrich Show Farm sits in the Cango Valley, in the area known as Schoemanshoek, roughly 14 kilometers outside town. Its location is really the headline feature: the farm's official site sits close enough to Cango Caves that you can realistically do both attractions without burning your whole day on the road. The tour format leans interactive, with guides encouraging closer contact during feeding sessions than some other farms allow, which makes it a favorite for travelers who want hands-on photos rather than a purely observational walk-through.
Safari Ostrich Farm is the most convenient option if you're short on time or don't have a rental car. It sits just off the R328 close to town, cutting driving time to almost nothing. The tour format mirrors the other two farms: feeding, breeding-pen viewing, and a shop stop, but the proximity to Oudtshoorn's center makes it the practical pick for a quick two-hour detour between other errands.
Here's how the three stack up when you're trying to decide fast:
- Highgate is best for visitors who want history alongside the farm tour and appreciate an established, full-package experience with meal options.
- Cango Ostrich Show Farm is best for travelers building a Cango Caves day trip, since the geography does the itinerary planning for you.
- Safari Ostrich Farm is best for anyone based in town without transport, or families squeezing a farm visit between other Oudtshoorn stops.
Tripadvisor's current listing of Oudtshoorn attractions places all three among the top-rated farms in the area, which tells you visitor satisfaction across the trio is consistently strong rather than one farm dramatically outperforming the others. Your choice usually comes down to logistics and personal taste, not quality gaps.
One thing worth knowing before you pick: these are show farms, built around visitor experience, not the commercial side of the industry. If you're specifically curious about industrial-scale production, some coverage on Highgate's relaunch notes that factory or processing access beyond the standard shop tour isn't guaranteed and may need special arrangement. Ask when you book if that's your interest.
What Happens on a Typical Ostrich Show-Farm Tour?
A standard tour runs through four stages: a walk to the main yard for a live demonstration, hand-feeding (either you're feeding the birds or, at some farms, sitting on one for photos), a look at the breeding and incubation areas, and a stop at the factory or shop where you see feathers, leather, and egg products up close.
Most tours last a variable length of time depending on group size and how much you linger at the shop. Guides usually build in time for questions, and the better farms explain the biology behind an ostrich's kick, its egg-laying cycle, and why the birds can outrun a horse over short distances. If you want more than the walk-through, ask about add-ons.
- Meal packages that turn the visit into a lunch stop, common at Highgate.
- Extended demonstrations for larger groups or school trips.
- Private or small-group slots that move faster than the standard tour.
Pro Tip: If you're traveling with young children or anyone with mobility concerns, call ahead and ask specifically about terrain. Show farms are generally flat and manageable, but breeding-pen areas can involve gravel paths that are trickier with a stroller or wheelchair.
Families do well here. The demonstrations are built for a mixed-age crowd, and guides are used to fielding kid questions about egg size and running speed. Just remember these are working show farms, not petting zoos, so expect structure rather than free-roam interaction.
Ticket Prices, Hours, and Getting to the Farms
Farm prices change often enough that quoting a fixed number here would go stale fast. Check each farm's official booking page directly before you travel, since rates typically shift with season, group size, and whether a meal package is bundled in.
What stays more predictable is the operating rhythm. Farms generally run daily, with slightly earlier closing times in winter (roughly May through August) and longer hours during the busier December to January summer season, when Garden Route traffic peaks. Booking a slot the day before, rather than showing up, gives you a buffer against sold-out demonstration times during peak months.
Getting there is straightforward if you have a car. The R328 is the main route connecting Oudtshoorn to both Cango Caves and several of the farms, including Cango Ostrich Show Farm in the Cango Valley. Safari Ostrich Farm sits close enough to town that you barely need the highway at all. All three farms have on-site parking, and if you're relying on a tour operator rather than a rental car, most transfer services in the area build a farm stop into a Cango Caves day package by default.
A few booking habits worth adopting:
- Reserve meal-inclusive slots ahead of time. Kitchens plan around headcounts, and walk-ins sometimes get the shop-only experience instead.
- Confirm whether the factory or shop tour is part of your ticket or sold separately.
- Ask about group discounts if you're arriving with more than six or eight people. Farms handle school and tour groups regularly and often have a rate for it.
- Double-check current hours the same week you travel, since seasonal shifts catch first-time visitors off guard more than almost anything else on this list.
If you're combining the farm with Cango Caves, build your day around the caves' tour schedule first. Cave tours run on fixed departure times, while farm demonstrations tend to flex more easily around your arrival.
Staying Safe Around the Birds
Ostriches are not aggressive by nature, but they're large, fast, and strong enough that a kick can genuinely hurt. Guides manage the risk well, so the real job for visitors is simple: listen and follow instructions.
- Stay behind the guide's lead at all times. Never approach a bird from behind or try to touch one that isn't part of an active demonstration.
- Keep children within arm's reach. Ostriches are curious about bright colors and quick movements, and a running toddler can trigger a chase instinct.
- Dress for the Klein Karoo sun. Temperatures climb fast in summer, so wear a hat, sunscreen, and closed shoes. Farms involve some walking on uneven, dusty ground.
- Feed only when the guide hands you the food. Don't bring your own snacks near the pens. It confuses the birds and can trigger unwanted pecking.
- Ask before you photograph up close. Flash photography can startle the animals, and some farms restrict it near nesting birds.
- Raise husbandry questions directly with staff. If animal welfare matters to you, guides at established farms are generally happy to explain feeding schedules, enclosure sizes, and breeding practices.
None of this should make you nervous. Thousands of visitors handle these tours every year without incident, largely because the guides know exactly how much room to give the birds and the group.
Pairing a Farm Visit With Cango Caves and Other Klein Karoo Stops
Cango Caves is the natural partner for any ostrich farm visit, and not just because they're close together. The contrast works: you get millions of years of underground geology in the morning and a hands-on animal encounter in the afternoon, two completely different textures of experience packed into one day. Oudtshoorn's own tourism board actively recommends stacking farm visits with local Klein Karoo experiences, including regional food and craft stops that reflect the area's ostrich-industry heritage.
Two itineraries cover most travel styles.
Half-day option: Start at Cango Caves for the first guided tour of the morning, when it's cooler and less crowded. Head to Cango Ostrich Show Farm right after, since it's a short drive from the caves along the R328. You'll be done by early afternoon, leaving the rest of the day free.
Full-day option: Begin with an ostrich farm tour in the morning while temperatures are manageable. Grab lunch locally, ostrich steak and ostrich egg dishes are regional specialties worth trying at least once, and local cuisine like this genuinely shapes how travelers remember a destination. Spend the afternoon browsing craft shops in town or take a scenic detour along Route 62, then close the day with Cango Caves' later afternoon tour slot if it's not overly crowded.
Whichever version you pick, book your cave tour time first. Cave departures run on a fixed schedule, so anchor your day around that and let the farm visit flex.
How Im-at Helps You Book the Whole Trip in One Place
Planning a Garden Route stop around Oudtshoorn usually means juggling separate bookings for farms, caves, and transport. There are online platforms that offer a single search and booking layer across all of it.
- Users can compare available slots across multiple regional activities without switching between separate farm and tour websites on some booking platforms.
- Check out once, with a single confirmation covering all bookings handled by some platforms.
- Build multi-attraction itineraries, similar to Im-at's 5-Day Garden Route & Addo Adventure package, which bundles regional stops into one trip.
- Browse other South African wildlife experiences, including the Aquila Safari full-day tour near Cape Town, if you're extending your trip beyond the Klein Karoo.
For a region where timing between attractions matters as much as the attractions themselves, having one booking screen instead of four separate ones is a real time-saver.
A Note on How These Farms Were Chosen
These recommendations came from comparing visitor experience, accessibility, and family suitability across the three farms, weighed against current availability and how consistently each one shows up in traveler feedback. Details like hours and pricing shift with the season, so confirm the specifics on the farm's own site or through Im-at before you commit to a date. That last check takes two minutes and saves you a wasted drive.
— Mikahil
Book Your Oudtshoorn Day, and the Rest of the Trip, Through Im-at
Farm and cave bookings are only part of planning an Oudtshoorn stop. Certain online platforms help find what else is worth doing nearby and allow booking without juggling multiple tabs. Some serve as a search and checkout layer across tours, cultural experiences, and day trips throughout South Africa, enabling a farm visit to be booked alongside cultural outings or scenic drives.
If you're rounding out your Klein Karoo days with something beyond ostriches and caves, the Lesedi Cultural Village day tour is worth a look for a different kind of South African experience, and it books through the same platform. Browse what's available for your travel dates on Im-at and see how the pieces fit together before you commit to a route.
Sources
- Exciting Ostrich Tours - Highgate Ostrich Show Farm
- Cango Ostrich Show Farm
- THE BEST Oudtshoorn Farms (2026) - Tripadvisor