Sitting in a mountainous region, the small town of Oudtshoorn is a unique settlement inhibited by some 80,000 residents with an ostrich population over 90,000.  
In fact, Oudtshoorn is the home to the largest ostrich population in the world, which earned it monikers such as "the city of ostriches" or "city of feathers". And as such, "riding an ostrich in Oudtshoorn" is not a marketing tagline to draw visitors. On the contrary, it is a good test of courage. There are a number of specialized ostrich breeding farms such as the Safari Show Farm and the Highgate Ostrich Show Farm that tourists might want to pay a visit. 

If you arrive at the farms around noon, it might be a good idea to enjoy an "ostrich feast": dishes include ostrich filet and jerky made from ostrich legs and other parts of the bird such as the liver (highly valued and popular among local gourmets), the gizzard, the hip, the neck and so forth. The meal is complete with fried ostrich eggs and wine. The taste of ostrich meat dishes is highly subjective but it is still a rare opportunity to taste the exotic bird. As long as you are not on a diet, there is little harm in indulging yourself in the special cuisine. After the meal, the farm will arrange transportation (mule carts) to take visitors to the breeding grounds for ostriches so that they may see the giant bird up close. In addition, visitors may fondle with the giant ostrich eggs in the sand pits or even stand on them to take pictures. Alternatively, visitors could also try feeding corn to the ostriches. 

  However, the most exciting activity at the farm would be ostrich riding. Visitors who are bold enough can ask the ostrich herder at the farm for assistance to ride on the back of ostriches that are kept in the pen. 
If that isn't enough to quench your desire for adventure, you could also take the bird for a ride around the farm and see how long you can manage to stay on the bird! (It is also a good time to ready your cameras if you want to snap the perfect shot of someone embarrassing themselves by falling off the bird). For those who feel that ostrich riding is not their cup of tea, they could also cheer on the ostrich herders as they race on the bird. 

Before you leave the farm, you might want to spend sometime at the Ostrich Curio Shop and check out the merchandize. Virtually all merchandize sold in the shop are all related to ostriches, including jerky, ostrich feather product, leather goods, painted ostrich egg, ostrich leg floor lamp and so forth. These souvenirs make excellent gifts for others or keepsakes that you could buy for yourself to reminisce your trip to South Africa in the future. 

According to the ostrich herders at the farm, ostrich brain is comprised of spongy matter filled with air. In addition, the skull that protects its head is very thin. This is why it only takes a very light blow to an ostrich's head to kill it. In the past, when hunters riding on horses chase wild ostriches (that could run at an amazing speed of 60 km/h), they would deliberately wear out the ostriches and kill them by lashing their whips to their head. It appears that these giant birds were aware of their weakness and had learnt to bury their heads in the sand. Once they do that, hunters would have to resort to other means of capturing them. After all, an ostrich may easily weigh over 100 kg and stand at a height of two meters. Not only that, these birds could also jump as far as 15 meters in a single leap. Without the use of firearms, hunters really cannot do much to capture ostriches. 　　 

Generally speaking, the female ostrich will lay her first egg 14 days after copulation, followed by one successive egg on the following day until she lays 12 to 14 eggs. Incubation duties are shared by both the male and female (the females will incubate the eggs in the day and the male would do so in the night) and an ostrich egg usually takes 42 days to hatch. A single ostrich egg weighs approximately 1 kilogram and it is equivalent to 25 chicken eggs in size. Although its shell is only 2 millimeters thick, it is capable of withstanding over 120 kilograms of pressure (200 kg along the axle side). It is said that a female ostrich can lay approximately 2,000 eggs in its lifetime, which is typically around 40 years.