Just call him Doctor Doolittle - January 23, 2013
After a swim and a fantastic South African braai, it was time to rest, in some cases in rooms that looked like little townhouses and in other cases in rooms that looked suspiciously like overgrown mushrooms. In the morning, after feeding and watering was complete, we set out for the Canga petting zoo, an opportunity to see some of the cats and birds which are native to this part of the world. In cases such as these, pictures speak thousands of words, whether the animals are portrayed within their cages or up close with humans.
The next stop was at an ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn where we got a chance to see some of these large birds up close. Lessons learned this afternoon included:
Along the way, we travelled through the mountains and witnessed certain areas where there is obviously very little rain, and other areas where the snow melt from the mountains provides irrigation for richly fertile fields where all manner of fruits and vegetables are found in abundance.
More than once this week, we have had to remind ourselves that we are in the Southern Hemisphere, therefore we are coming toward the end of summer rahter than in the midst of winter.
We saw evidence today of apricots and peaches which had been laid out in the sun to dry - considering that the temperature reaches a pleasant 41C and that there is relatively little rain, the climate is perfect for drying fruit.
South Africa is also famous for its wine. In the coming days we will have an opportunity to visit some of the vineyards, but already in the valleys we travelled today, there was evidence of grape vines, perhaps a harbinger of adventures yet to come.
After a swim and a fantastic South African braai, it was time to rest, in some cases in rooms that looked like little townhouses and in other cases in rooms that looked suspiciously like overgrown mushrooms. In the morning, after feeding and watering was complete, we set out for the Canga petting zoo, an opportunity to see some of the cats and birds which are native to this part of the world. In cases such as these, pictures speak thousands of words, whether the animals are portrayed within their cages or up close with humans.
The next stop was at an ostrich farm in Oudtshoorn where we got a chance to see some of these large birds up close. Lessons learned this afternoon included:
- The female ostrich will continue to lay eggs until its nest is full;
- Once an ostrich chick is ready to break through its shell, its mother will crack the shell with her breastbone and then allow the chick to peck its way free;
- an unfertilized ostrich egg can be cracked (using a hammer) and scrambled; it contains the equivalent liquid content of two dozen chicken eggs;
- while ostrich eggs are very high in cholesterol, ostrich meat contains no cholesterol at all;
- ostrich are only native to Africa;
- ostrich feathers were sold as fashion accessories throughout the world; along with trade in timber, ostrich feathers helped to put south Africa on the map of international trading countries;
- in the early days, farmers would kill ostrich in order to harvest the feathers, however the ostrich will regenerate feathers as they are plucked so there is no need to slaughter them in order to harvest their feathers;
- the sale of ostrich eggshells and meat developed once the demand for feathers waned;
- ostrich raised on farms are slaughtered at the age of fourteen (14) months; at that age, they are fully grown and their meat is at its tender best;
- ostrich will eat grass; they will also eat stones (to help with digestion) and almost any other object that is not nailed down as well, though they have a specific appetite for bright, shiny objects;
- ostrich have very short memories; within five (5) minutes, they will change focus and completely forget what they were just doing (does this sound like permanent dimentia?);
- aside from humans, the main predators of the ostrich are jackals and mongoose who steal the eggs from their nests;
- ostrich meat is all dark and slightly gamy in taste.
Along the way, we travelled through the mountains and witnessed certain areas where there is obviously very little rain, and other areas where the snow melt from the mountains provides irrigation for richly fertile fields where all manner of fruits and vegetables are found in abundance.
More than once this week, we have had to remind ourselves that we are in the Southern Hemisphere, therefore we are coming toward the end of summer rahter than in the midst of winter.
We saw evidence today of apricots and peaches which had been laid out in the sun to dry - considering that the temperature reaches a pleasant 41C and that there is relatively little rain, the climate is perfect for drying fruit.
South Africa is also famous for its wine. In the coming days we will have an opportunity to visit some of the vineyards, but already in the valleys we travelled today, there was evidence of grape vines, perhaps a harbinger of adventures yet to come.
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