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Highgate Ostrich Show Farm
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Highgate Ostrich Show Farm

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See all things to do
Highgate Ostrich Show Farm
4.5
#3 of 25 things to do in Oudtshoorn
Farms
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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About
It's true. Highgate is the world's oldest ostrich show farm. But it is a working farm too. So we don't do things for show. We give you the real African farm experience. Our guided tour takes approx. 75 minutes & an expert guide will show you our modern breeding methods, how the largest eggs of any living bird species are incubated, and see the hatching room. Experience the opportunity of hand feeding an Ostrich. Enjoy our Pepper Tree Restaurant! We take advantage ofour magnificent all-year round climate to set the tables under our ancient Peruvian pepper tree so the whole family dines al fresco-style while enjoying the great outdoors. Catch your breath and visit our shop selling only genuine, South African-made products, many of which are produced by our skilled staff on the farm using our own resources. From beautiful decoupage ostrich eggs to delicate ostrich leather products. We are situated 10km outside Oudtshoorn on the R328 road to Mossel Bay.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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  • SagarSavla
    Jersey City, New Jersey131 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Simple and different experience
    We (3A, 2K) visited this on our way to Knysna. It was worth the detour. Very unique experience. It was approximately a 45 minute tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. He explained to us about ostriches their history, anatomy and lots of facts which we didn’t know. We saw and very able to touch ostrich eggs. We ended the tour feeding the ostriches. The kids and adults all loved it. Would highly recommend this. It’s very different experience which you don’t get to do at a lot of places
    Visited November 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written November 6, 2023
  • neeratraveler
    San Francisco, California242 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting experience
    The Highgate Ostrich show farm near Oudshoom was delightful. Our group had a private tour that was very informative. Later we had a chance to walk around and look at the Ostrich and feed them if interested in doing so. There is a gift shop with things such as ostrich feather dusters. There is also a restaurant- worth a visit.
    Visited October 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written November 16, 2023
  • Anne-Marie R
    Montreal, Canada22 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Farm and tasting tour, a must do!
    Great tour of the ostrich farm, our guide Samantha was so knowledgeable and would have the best stories! A wonderful learning experience! As I booked the tour and meal I then went to the restaurant area and got to have a really enjoyable culinary experience. I had never had ostrich before I visited South Africa and it was as surprising as delicious. My waiter, Ilsa made the tasting even more delightful with her tips and comments! I would definitely recommend doing the farm and tasting tour! Wonderful!
    Visited December 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written December 13, 2023
  • Footprints570166
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great tour from Samantha!
    This was better than we expected. We did the tour with Samantha and she was so lovely and knowledgeable about the ostriches. We saw a few different species, she showed us some eggs, how they made things from the feathers and give us a history on the farm itself. She then showed us the babies and we got to feed some other ostriches which was hilarious. Overall, we throughly enjoyed this tour and would recommend it.
    Visited January 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written February 3, 2024
  • Owen C
    244 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting and informative
    I really wasn't sure about this tour, but we arrived in Outshoorn about 2pm and had a couple of hours to kill. It was actually very informative and a bit of fun. Unfortunatley in Late Feb the last of the eggs have hacthed for the season, but we did get to hold a baby Ostrich and feed the customer friendly adults. Great way to spend an hour.
    Visited February 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written March 1, 2024
  • Maaike v
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing ostriches tour
    We had an amazing tour! Geraldine knows a lot about ostriches and talks about them with enthusiasm! She speaks very clear English so it is easy to understand. You can see that the ostriches are treated well and that they are proud of their farm. I would definitely recommend the tour!
    Visited March 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written March 9, 2024
  • AHMMYEE
    California553 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun excursion to see Ostriches
    Our travel guide Craig Milner took us to the Highgate Ostrich Farm in South Africa. The presenter there, Samantha was very informative. She showed us all the products that are produced from ostriches. We visited the ostrich chicks and also had an opportunity to feed the ostriches. We learned about the types of Ostriches in Africa.
    Visited August 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written August 27, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions
4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,053 reviews
Excellent
611
Very good
324
Average
75
Poor
20
Terrible
23
Lisa
Toronto, Canada291 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Give it a miss... go to another Ostrich Farm
Feb 2020
We arrived just as a tour was starting , o we were told to pay after the tour. Our guide was good, quite knowledgeable but the tour lacked a lot. When I went to pay afterwards, the receptionist barely registered that I was in front of her. I asked the fee and she pointed to 390rand! Shocked, I asked if it had gone up and it was not updated online. I got no response, she just pointed to how much I owed. She clearly did not want to serve customers and I think did not want to be at work.
at 195rand per person, it is so over priced for what you get that I am appalled.
I went to the Cango Ostrich Farm the day before and they charge 125 rand per person and really make it about the tourists. Cango was 100 times the experience as Highgate and almost half the price. They also have staff that greets you warmly and rather than pointing, not communicating and sour face at High Gate. Do yourself a favour and go to Cango Ostrich Farm or any other farm instead.
Written February 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Louise Keller
Dear Lisa So sad to get reviews such as this one!! This is your right to report a complain but your heading " Give it a miss... go to another Ostrich Farm" let me ask the question " Are you busy advertising for Cango Ostrich Farm at a cost of Highgate Ostrich Farm to say bad things. Another question I have why do someone visit two ostrich farms if there are so many other activities in Oudtshoorn as it is time consuming and lots to see, why do you want to hear more or less the same story twice? I honestly do not understand this! As far as I know their tour is 45 minutes compare to Highgate's 90 minute tour. Therefor the tour will be more expensive than the other one. Our guides are all qualified and very professional and also rated as the best in town. They have so much to share with our visitors, this is not only the farm practices, we have so much more to share regarding the Ostrich Industry and how we operate as the world leaders in so many areas. Our tour starts with an introduction and warm welcome, following by visit the factory floor where we produce all types of products of feathers, such as the boas, dusters, key rings and engraving of ostrich eggshell , some master pieces! These people have a lot of talent. We have the breeder room, I am sure your kids enjoyed the small chicks that got hatched in the hatchers, always a wow moment. We are having all sizes of chicks to show our visitors the development phases and the fast growing of ostriches! The feeding of the birds are always fun with lot of laughs. The 3 different species we have at Highgate and the stories about them, The African Black, Kenya Red and Zimbabwe Blues are a very interesting one to see and experience! Lots of the products in our showroom are manufactured here on the farm! We are also involve in a lot of community uplift projects. Our Peppertree Restaurant is know as one of the best restaurants in town, therefor forgive me if I have the feeling that you visited Highgate for the wrong reasons. There are NO space or position for any unfriendly, unhelpful staff member at Highgate, if this is the case, that person will leave this property in a very short matter of time, I want to ensure you! I do not think you will know how bad it is to receive a rating such as this one, as we have to get about 4 other excellent ratings to put us back in the position where we were before you sent this one! Please think about this before you send ratings to other properties again! I hope the rest of your tour in South Africa was good! Kind regards Johan Keller Co-Owner Highgate
Written February 7, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mandy
London, UK168 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
What a unique and wonderful experience!
Sep 2022 • Couples
Jonathan was our guide for the day, he was so knowledgeable, funny and attentive to us guests.
He took us to see the three species of ostriches they have on the farm, and understood my slight unease at some point and took us away from the area (all in a very attentive and professional manner). He encouraged us to try and per and feed the ostriches we saw first and I happily tried and loved it. They hold such beautiful animals and you can tell they’re really well looked after.
Afterwards, he took us to the incubators and then to see the cutest baby ostriches, which absolutely made my day!
The last activity was getting a “neck massage” from the ostriches.. I was the only one having a go, and I can’t say it was my favourite (a couple of females went for my hair rather than the corn) but still likes the experience!

I would recommend visiting the farm and getting to do the activities, it’s really worth it and you also get to know more about the farming industry as well as getting to know more these fascinating creatures!

I also want to mention that Jonathan knowledge isn’t limited to ostriches! He was very knowledgeable about the flora of the farm, which I found just as fascinating!
Written September 23, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David G
Dornbirn, Austria19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Amazing encounter with ostriches
Aug 2022
We made a traditional ostrich farm tour and were amazed! Already coming to Oudtshoorn and seeing ostriches all around was exciting but at the Highgate we learned a lot about these interesting animals. Johnatan gave us a great tour, talking one second seriously and the next one putting in a "serious" joke. He really rocked.
We could have fed them from hand as well as feed them from the bucket, while getting a neck massage :-), we visited a breeding room and the Highgate factory. The lady prepared one duster from the feathers in front of our eyes, made you wanna get one as a souvenir for you and your relatives.
Written September 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LouiseDerbyshire
Derbyshire53 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Really enjoyable
Feb 2022 • Family
The tour which lasted about an hour and which we didn’t pre book was excellent. Ben was knowledgeable and had a sense of humour. Well worth doing and didn’t involve going far, literally walking around the main building area which suited us as quite hot weather. Children loved handling young ostrich and feeding adults. It didn’t look much from first impressions but the tour with Ben really made it.
Written February 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
A must do if you going to Oudshoorn
Sep 2021 • Family
The tour we did was extremely enjoyable and informative. The guide was very knowledgable about the whole life cycle of the ostrich as well as the industry in general. The kids got to feed the ostriches, view the incubators, and then also hold the baby chicks. Well worth it for the price. Adults R100 and kids are free
Written October 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Louise Keller
Dear Chris Thank you for your beautiful review, we as Highgate team really appreciate it. Thanks for visited us to enjoy the beauty and wonderful history and stories regarding this very interesting animal. We love our ostriches who contributes a lot of fun to our business over many decades. We are looking forward to have you back at Highgate, even for a delicious lunch on your next trip to our beautiful part of our country. Take care. Regards Johan Keller
Written October 14, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Iolanda Guerra e Andrade
Lisbon, Portugal3,748 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Very interesting and informative ...
Feb 2020
The guide who took us along this very thorough ostrich farm visit and shared with us valuable information in French (we were mostly French speaking) regarding the ostrich breeding process, the types of ostriches and anything relevant therewith related deserves to be praised because despite the visit being interesting in itself, I feel he made it a lot more interesting. The workshop and showroom were equally interesting. Lunch at the farm's restaurant was superb.
Written May 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Louise Keller
Dear Lolanda I have to apologize for this very late response, I totally forgot to watch my trip advisor reviews! Thank you so much for this very beautiful review and the high rates. We really appreciate each and every visitor who support us during these very difficult times with the 6 years drought, with very little rain on the farms , and the Covid19 which basically stop the tourism business worldwide. I am glad you had a memorable experience with Hermes, his French is very good as his father was a French professorat a university in the Kongo . Please visit us again. Take care. Kind regards Johan Keller
Written March 3, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
VilhelmThygesen
Bergen, Norway46 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
The O.G Ostrich farm
Feb 2021 • Couples
We visited this ostrich farm in february in the afternoon. It was recommended by some friends of ours and I must admit beforehand I was not so interested in ostrichs, but that was proven wrong. The local guy, Ben, with 25 odd years of experience gave us THE tour of the farm and putting everything into context with the ostrich feather (boas etc) craze long time ago etc ,plus showing us how,the industry works today prdoucing many products for the international market etc (dusters, boas, skins, purses etc). Really worth a visit.
Written February 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Louise Keller
Dear Vilhelm Thank you so much for this beautiful review and high rating, I am terribly sorry for taking so long to reply. Thank you for visited Highgate, I am sure you had a wonderful time with Ben who really has a passion for what is is doing. We are looking forward to welcome more guests on the farm to experience the beauty of this Ostrich industry, which is also such an educational tour and experience for our children. We are looking forward to welcome you back. Kind regards Johan Keller Co-Owner/Manager Highgate
Written February 26, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
SagarSavla
Jersey City, NJ131 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Simple and different experience
Nov 2023 • Family
We (3A, 2K) visited this on our way to Knysna. It was worth the detour. Very unique experience. It was approximately a 45 minute tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable. He explained to us about ostriches their history, anatomy and lots of facts which we didn’t know. We saw and very able to touch ostrich eggs. We ended the tour feeding the ostriches. The kids and adults all loved it. Would highly recommend this. It’s very different experience which you don’t get to do at a lot of places
Written November 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anne-Marie R
Montreal, Canada22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Farm and tasting tour, a must do!
Dec 2023 • Solo
Great tour of the ostrich farm, our guide Samantha was so knowledgeable and would have the best stories! A wonderful learning experience! As I booked the tour and meal I then went to the restaurant area and got to have a really enjoyable culinary experience. I had never had ostrich before I visited South Africa and it was as surprising as delicious. My waiter, Ilsa made the tasting even more delightful with her tips and comments! I would definitely recommend doing the farm and tasting tour!
Wonderful!
Written December 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hilton Tait
Cape Town, South Africa552 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Was expecting more
Mar 2024 • Couples
We stopped off on a suggestion but despite the warm welcome we opted out of going on the tour as we were pressed for time. We decided to just have breakfast at the on-site Peppertree Restaurant.
We were the first customers at 08:30 but they were unprepared for guests so still had to set up everything. The order was taken quickly but the breakfast took a long time to prepare and then wasn't great. Eggs which were supposed to have been soft were hard, and the cappuccinos were luke warm.
The shop was interesting but seemed expensive.
Overall the place seems to be showing that's its the oldest in the area.
Written April 7, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Highgate Ostrich Show Farm - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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