Travelling South Africa: Oudtshoorn

Guestbloggers Ivar, Joan and their daughter Lise (3 yrs) are travelling South Africa. They trip starts and ends in Cape Town, they share the highlight of their trip and theur best tips and tricks with us.

After reaching Addo Elephant Park at the end of the Garden Route, we head back towards Cape Town again. We say goodbye to the beautiful coastline before we drive landward to drive the Wine Route, which is again stunning. We even drive for several hours without seeing a soul. As we approach Oudtshoorn we see more and more ostriches, which isnt strange as Uodtshoorn in known for the ostriches farms.

We booked a special accommodation for tonight: a tree house. Its a lovely lottle hous witha beatiful view from up in the trees. We are warmly received at check in and Lise makes friends with Ginger the house cat. As the “resort” has a pool as well, Lise wants to go for a swim. The water is very cold, which makes it a short visit to the pool. After this little, cold, break we do some grocery shopping before we head to Buffelsdrift, a private park nearby. Luckily we are allowed to book a jeep tour with Lise as well, so we book one for the next day straight away.

After breakfast the next morning, we drive to Wilgenwandel. Its a huge playground just outside of Oudtshoorn. Its quite old, but the view from the swing is magnificent.Besides the swings they have climbing frames, a trampoline and animals. While Lise enjoys herself, we enjoy a drink in the sun with a calming view of Swart Berg. We drive to Buffelsdrift in the afternoon for our jeep safari. What an amazing experience! We see wild giraffes for the first time. Lise is so overwhelmed she has difficulties to decide where to look. Even though she doesnt understand the guide, as he is speaking English, she is totally foccused on what he is telling us. After our giraffes encounter we spot a white rhino. The jeep drives us through the park while boucing on the rocky roads.The harder we bouce, the harder Lise laughs.

After this amazing experience we enjoy our dinner at Buffelsdrift restaurant. While eating we watch the hippopotamuses enjoying their pool. The restaurant is, like most South Africans, very friendly to Lise. When we enter she is given paper and markers straight away. In general we are happily surprised by the “child friendlyness” of the restaurants, 9 out of 10 has a playground, markers or something else for the ids to enjoy. When the evening falls, we see elephants strolling by slowly… Wow this was again an amazing day. Travelling South Africa with kids is amazing!

Tips & Tricks Travelling South Africa with kids

When in Oudtshoorn, sleep in a tree house, you will love the view.

Visit Buffelsdrift to view the wildlife and enjoy dinner at their child friendly restaurant.

Make sure you book a jeep safari in Buffelsdrift.

Visit Wilgenwandel playground at Oudtshoorn

Do you love travelling with your kids? Check out our inspiring blogs about travelling in Costa Rica, Sri Lanka and our Top 5 holiday destinations with kids