Ostrich paraphenalia galore! and other Oudtshoorn, South Africa Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: Various shops and stores

Many shops and stores, whether permanent stands, or by the side of the road.. sell ostrich goods.

What To Buy: Their meat is a firm favourite, with locals and visitors alike. Ostrich meat is chewy and not too gamey, as other meats sometimes are (unlike beef biltong).

Their eggs are utilised for ornamentation and decoration. They are extremely popular, whether painted or unpainted.

A typical ostrich egg is, on average, about 28 times bigger than a typical chicken egg.

Their feathers make hand bags.

What To Pay: Not too expensive, a shop would be more expensive than a roadside stall though.

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Theme: Local Craft
Directions: All over Oudtshoorn

This upmarket curio shop is in the Cango Cave Reception area.

A funny little story here is that as I was walking around I spotted a familiar looking card! They still stocked some cards of mine! I recall the agent at the time asking for loads of ostrich cards... and they were done in a rush and I didnt particularly like them to be honest, but that's what the agent said the client wanted.

So off they went... and now, 5 years later, there are still some of them on the shelves! I did provide them with a few hundred cards, and this is what is left, so they have sold many, but that is pretty dismal considering 5 years have passed! I knew they wouldnt sell well ;)

The coasters, placemats and keyrings I provided obviously did sell well, but they were alot nicer I thought!

What To Buy: It has all kinds of curios, native to South Africa, in it.

Placemats, coasters, greeting cards, sculprutes, books, clothing, feather boas, CDs, chess sets, crockery and cutlery etc. etc.

What To Pay: Things are expensive here, they are aimed towards the tourist pocket.. which is not Rand friendly!

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Theme: Local Craft

Name of Shop: African Odyssey Curios

A delightful little permanent stall on the road between Oudtshoorn and Cango Caves... it has a wide variety of curios and crafts from the locals.

The prices were okay, not that expensive in comparison to the shop at Cango Caves.. and also, I think that handmade products are ogten undervalued, when taking into account all the hours made to produce them.

In SA, when selling to a shop, add at least 114%... and that will be their selling price (100% markup and 14% VAT).

This'll give you an idea what the locals actually get.

What To Buy: All kinds of local curios and gifts

What To Pay: Not too expensive

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Theme: Local Craft