Outdshoorn: Cango Caves and Beyond

We wanted this trip to be filled with different types of experiences. Outdshoorn is the ostrich capital of the world, and we hadn't seen as many ostriches in our lives when we were driving around the countryside. There were ostrich farms left and right, and ostrich pens had as much as a hundred birds contained. Thus, we weren't as fascinated anymore with the ostriches. Part of the reason why we decided to go to Outdshoorn was another attraction: the Cango Caves.


We went to the Cango Caves without any idea what to expect. We just thought that the idea of caving was a refreshing experience to the usual beach and mountain landscapes we have encountered so far. 


Cango Caves is a main attraction in South Africa, and thus, there were a lot of guided tours to this site. A lot of them came in buses, and the Chinese and Koreans were already here. Hence, it was your typical tourist attraction. We were in a group of around 40 people, so there tour guide had a hard time containing everyone together.


We were pleasantly shocked when we entered the caves. The scene was utterly spectacular. The caverns was grandoise and well-preserved. It was probably the best cave I have seen after the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin, China.


The Cango Caves are renowned for their impressive limestone formations, including dramatic stalactites and stalagmites that have been formed over millions of years. The caves are a true natural wonder, with intricate patterns and shapes that will leave you in awe.They were massive and amazingly formed.




The guide lighted the entire chamber when we all arrived into it, to add drama to the reveal of the chamber. The place was well lighted, for everyone to appreciate the formations. We took the short tour, so after 4 chambers we were told to exit the caves.


The cave was already closed for entry when we got out. We wondered what else we could do. As we were driving back home, we passed by this picnic ground, that seemed to be popular with families. We got down the car and took a camel ride.




We spent our last night in De Denne and woke up for the longest drive to Francshoek, which is an hour away already from Cape Town.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Us-Usan Island: Guimaras

Image
After having a pleasant lunch in Nagarao, we decided to hire a boat to explore the surrounding islands of Nagarao. There was this one island that the staff recommended, Us-usan Island. As soon as I saw a strip of sand glistening from a distance, I knew we were in for a treat. Us-usan Island. The water wasn't as clear though as in Nagarao and in most of Guimaras. The sand bar jutting out of the island seemed like a catwalk on the sea. This provided a nice swimming area for the island's visitors as well. We began to explore the island, hoping to circle it in less than an hour. The island has a narrow shoreline, probably because it was high tide. There were also foliage all around, so it was quite a struggle going around. We were treated though with amazing views of the sea. This tree was alone and offshore for around 100 meters. It was quite strange to see a single tree in full bloom in the middle of the sea. After 15 minutes of walking, we arrived at a mangrove area. There were ...
Explore...

JCO Donuts and Coffee

Image
Its logo looks like Starbucks and the look of the place is like Krispy Kreme in orange. I guess the owners of JCO really thought of merging coffee and donuts, which are of course, perfect for each other. I stumbled upon JCO when it opened in Jakarta 2 years ago. The lines were unbelievably long, and that reminded me of our Gonuts Donuts craze back then. After 2 years, JCO in Jakarta has established itself as a donut shop serving great coffee and blended drinks. They also serve ice cream (gelato). JCO is a franchise that began in Singapore, spread in Malaysia, and hit Indonesia. The donuts craze came about the same time across all countries in Asia. JCO for me is different. When I tasted it the first time, I just had the glazed donut served by my clients. MY initial reaction was, it tasted like Dunkin' Donuts. And that held my interest. While Go Nuts and Krispy Kreme tasted the same, Dunkin Donuts was still different. In the Philippines, Dunkin' is targets the mass market, makin...
Explore...

Legaspi Suites Hotel: Davao

Image
Legaspi Suites is the only boutique hotel in Davao. What makes it boutique is its size and attention to design and ambience. Legaspi Suites is located in a complex that was once an ancestral home. The landmark still remains in tact at the middle of the complex and a 4 story apartment building was built around it to house the hotel. Once you enter the lobby, you would feel that the hotel thought about its design, which is uncommon in Davao. I would think this would be normal in Cebu already, but in Davao, good design is still scarce. I got the cheapest room, a standard room for P1,600 since I was only staying for one night. The room was huge and very bare. I'm assuming this room was made simple because of the class. The rooms have different colors, as seen from their brochures. I passed by a suite room which was open, and I thought it looked charming. My room was located on the second floor beside the spa, so I had a view of the courtyard downstairs. I love this place because it had...
Explore...