A Feather In Our Cape

Oudtshoorn boasts quirky attractions for shoppers, foodies, culture fans and bird-brains

- Bruce Dennill

Staying in George leaves you spoiled for choice if you want to take a day trip. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are not far down the coast, and Mossel Bay and Victoria Bay are visible on the horizon from one of the lookout spots a little way up the Outeniqua Pass just out of town.

And hey, look, seeing that you’re already heading uphill on the pass, you may as well continue inland to Oudtshoorn, a journey that is now a smooth 45 minutes by car rather than a kidney-compressing five days, as was the experience via wagon on the original Montagu Pass (modern remnant of which is visible on the other side of the valley as you drive).

Arriving in town, stop off at Smitswinkel, a characterful emporium of everything from convertible VW Beetles to Calitzdorp muscadel via biltong and Harley Davidson motorcycles. Look out for the dressmaker’s dummies placed in odd and unintentionally sinister poses around the property.