Cape Town Ostrich Ranch
Cape Town Ostrich Ranch - affordable family fun with feathered friends
See the world’s smallest ostrich, try one of the tastiest ostrich burgers you will ever eat, ride on the back of one of these large birds, stand on their eggs – which will hold your weight, watch the chicks hatch in the incubator, visit the ostrich museum and have fun in the kiddies play area.
These are just a few of the things that families can experience at the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch, which is situated on the Old Malmesbury Road, next to the N7 close to Melkbos – a mere 20 minutes from Cape Town and Durbanville.
Ostriches – their feathers, their eggs, their history and more
At the Ostrich Ranch you can experience all aspects of ostrich farming and children will love the excitement of watching an ostrich chick hatch in the incubator (timing dependent) or standing on an ostrich egg to test its strength.
The ostrich museum is well worth a visit and in addition to historical facts about ostriches themselves, allows a glimpse back in time to when the ostrich feather industry was booming! Kids will also particularly enjoy the life size ostrich skeleton on display.
Visitors to the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch are lucky enough to be able to see the world’s smallest ostrich - Tom Thumb. This pint-sized ostrich holds the Guinness Book of Records title as the smallest living ostrich in the world.
Once the excitement of ostriches has been experienced, there is a large open kiddies play area which is situated on rolling green lawns, with a view over the vineyards towards the Durbanville Hills and surrounding farm lands. Great for the kids to play and for parents to sit back and relax.
The Cape Town Ostrich Ranch was recently completely renovated and revamped and now boasts a wonderful restaurant, situated in the original Cape Dutch farmhouse, which specialises in ostrich dishes. Visitors can choose to sit indoors where there is a large welcoming fireplace, or on beautiful days can sit outside in the sun under the bougainvilleas. And for the less hungry there is a tuck shop that is well stocked with snacks and cool drinks.
For those that fancy some retail therapy there is a well-stocked curio shop that sells an extensive range of ostrich leather and shell products, all of which are manufactured on-site at the leather and egg factory. The Cape Town Ostrich Ranch also has a Mineral World and Scratch Patch outlet – great for children, who revel in digging through the semi-precious stones for the ones that best catch their eye.
Special family deal
The Cape Town Ostrich Ranch is currently running a great special until 31 August where two kids under the age of 17 can enter for free with any paying adult. In addition to this, in celebration of Women’s Month, throughout the month of August all women who order a main meal at the restaurant get a free dessert.
Access to the restaurant, scratch patch and play area at the Cape Town Ostrich Ranch is free. The cost of the tour, which allows access to the ostriches, is R80 per adult, R65 for children between the ages of 7 and 16, and R31 for children between the ages of 2 and 6 (outside of the special offer running in August).
This really is a fantastic, and affordable, outing for the entire family – and situated so close to Cape Town!
Write up by Cath Pate
