Ostrich Riding is one Zany Adventure
I must admit, riding an ostrich in South Africa wasn’t high on my “to do list” but as it turned out, we had a blast!
Our tour started off amazingly well at the Cango Ostrich farm. It was just Dave and I and another guy from the US. We were feeling good that we’d have plenty of time to take photos and video of these long legged feathered friends. Our guide started to talk to us about raising ostrich and how valuable their leather, feathers and eggs were. It was an interesting introduction as we sat in the air conditioned presentation room.
And then in happened.
A large tour group joins us
A tour group of 14 people from the States (and one Canadian) came into join us. You have got to be kidding me! We had a tour booked for 10:30 am, sat around waiting until 11:00 am and then 10 minutes into our tour, this mammoth package tour joins us mucking up the place with laughter! (no laughter allowed I say, this is serious ostrich business 
Our fantastic guide tells us about the ostrich
Our guide was fantastic though. He saw the look of disgust on my face and seemed to take pity on my frustration. He even seemed to be annoyed when the front desk opened the door to let this group in part way through our session. So I felt a bit of a connection with him.
Got him eating out of my hands
When we went outside to see the birds, he let me have the first look at everything and let me go first when it came to having the ostrich eat out of my hand and he let me go first when it came time to ride! When Dave’s video jammed and we didn’t get the take, he let me jump on again! I loved this guy. He didn’t know that we were bloggers, he didn’t know that we were with South Africa Tourism, he only knew that I was looking to have the best experience possible.
the Ostrich Ride…
Crazy Thrill Ride on an Ostrich
After I said yes, to riding, I actually had second thoughts. Especially when our guide made the disclaimer “If you break your arm, your leg or your neck, we are not responsible.” What was I thinking? Actually, I didn’t have time to think, I was suited up in blue overalls, a put on that bird so quickly, that I didn’t have a chance to take in what was happening.
I didn’t know what to expect.
They brought the ostrich into the pen, put a hood over his eyes to calm him down and then set me on top. I was told to hang onto his wings and wrap my fee around his chest. Once I was “sort of” stable, we were off!
It was hilarious. I felt completely out of control and just held on for dear life. Thank God the rangers were there to spot me in case I fell off because I was sure I was going to topple over. In the end, I survived and by the time the second ride came around, I was an old pro.
Dave’s Turn with the Ostrich
Dave didn’t get the chance to ride an ostrich because they have strict weight limits. The ostrich is strong, but you can’t be over 65 Kilos. I was annoyed with the guys in the group trying to claim they were under the weight. I’d put a couple of them at 80 kilos at least and here they were trying to say they were ok. Luckily the guide laughed at them and said no.
Instead of the ride, Dave did have the chance to get an ostrich neck massage. Our guide, seemed to get the sense that we wanted away from this noisy group so he brought us over to the other corrall separately as the rest of the pack took their turns riding the ostrich. He placed a bucket of food in Dave’s hands, stood him by the fence and let the ostrich feast on the pellets. It was the cutest moment.
The Cango Ostrich farm is an interesting experience. We enjoyed visiting the ostrich and doing the activities, but when I thought about it, I realized that all these guys are being farmed. They’re like cattle or pigs. People eat ostrich, they use their feathers for carnivals like Mardi Gras and Rios Carnival, their eggs are used for decoration and their leather is a hot commodity.
I guess the guys that we rode and pet are safe for now as they’re used to being around people.
Ostrich are strong and deadly. Our guide on our safari told us that the only animal he has truly felt threatened by in all his years of being a ranger was an ostrich. One kick from an ostrich will kill you and if you find yourself being chased by an ostrich, lay down and give up. An ostrich can reach speeds of 65 km per hour so you’ll never outrun it. Playing dead is your only chance, but in reality your screwed!
Book your own ostrich tour for R70 ($9 USD) The tour lasts 45 minutes and they happen every 20 minutes throughout the day. Find out more information at the Cango Ostrich Website.
Comments
16 Responses to Ostrich Riding is one Zany Adventure
Leave a Reply
Posts
- Become a Real Life Potentialist, Pin for a Chance to Win $5000 on May 7, 2013 by debndave - 10 Comments
- Travel to Tonga on May 18, 2013 by debndave - 1 Comment
- A Dolphin Swim in Shark Country on May 16, 2013 by debndave - 15 Comments
- Fly the Flinders to Witness Wilpena Pound on May 14, 2013 by debndave - 5 Comments
- Get Ready for South Australia on May 12, 2013 by debndave - 11 Comments
- Become a Real Life Potentialist, Pin for a Chance to Win $5000 on May 7, 2013 by debndave - 10 Comments
- Honesty, Fear and Triumph – Dear Reader on May 27, 2011 by debndave - 166 Comments
- Petra by Night in Photos on May 4, 2011 by debndave - 160 Comments
- How Travel Saved our Marriage and Transformed Our Lives on June 18, 2012 by debndave - 147 Comments
- So You Want to Be a Pro Blogger in The Travel Business on November 14, 2011 by debndave - 141 Comments
See Our Travel Photos!!!
As Seen On
Get Inspired!
Media and Appearances
Archives
Partner with Us
ThePlanetD is one of the top travel blogs on the Internet. We work with brands and tourism boards to help bridge the gap between the corporation and consumer. To find out how you can work with us, visit our Media/Advertise page.Write for Us
Travel Resources
Connect with Us
Log in -
Development by MWL Development -
Designed by Gabfire Themes
Google+
OH MY GOD! How awesome! Question.. how did the ostrich know when to stop? Did he stop moving long enough for you to hop off or did you have to do a tuck and roll?
That’s really cool I want to try it.
Also good for the guides for sticking up for the weight limit! It would be unfair to the ostrich if people just didn’t care. Clearly they care about their animals!
cat recently posted..Snowboarding 2013
Hi Cat, it didn’t know when to stop. It either ran until you fell off or until you jumped off. The first time I went I fell off the back and the last time, I jumped off when he slowed down a bit. I had heard that some people don’t stick to the weight limit, so I was happy to see that our guide laughed at the people trying to say they were 65 kilos when they were clearly about 80. I think it was rude of the tourists to try to sneak in!
That’s really cool I want to try it……Amazing video……
Thanks! We love making videos, so I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This is so crazy! I have never heard of ostrich riding before. I bet they can go pretty fast.
Tanya recently posted..The Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins for 2012-2013
They can go fast! The first ostrich I rode was much faster than this guy. Something went wrong when Dave was filming so we didn’t capture the footage, but that one was funnier. I didn’t last as long and I fell off instead of jumped off. This ostrich didn’t seem to mind having me on his back, he just kept trotting along.
I have honestly heard how fun this can be. Can’t wait to try it…SOMEDAY!
It is zany fun. I was a little nervous because I wondered how I was going to get off if he went crazy, but the wranglers make you feel confident that nothing will happen.
Who knew that ostriches are rideable?! They’re strangely cute too. The pic of Dave with the birds is hilarious!
Dana Carmel @ Time Travel Plans recently posted..Rio’s Favelas
I agree Dana, they are cute. They have the largest eyes of any land animal in the world too! you notice that when you are up close with them, they have big wide eyes. There are a lot of ostrich in the wild in Africa, it’s nice to hear that they are one of the few animals not on the endangered list.
all I can say is whoa! I wanna try that as well…nice one!
Mike recently posted..Football Tours Europe
It’s a fun adventure Mike, let us know how it goes when you do!
So love this post! Who wouldn’t want to ride an ostrich after watch the Swiss Family Robinson years ago…lucky you! I
Corinne recently posted..It’s all About the Fish! Stranded in Akutan, Alaska!
Haha! I don’t remember them riding an Ostrich, I’ll have to find some old episodes and see how they did!
I actually feel kinda bad for the ostriches having to lug around tourists all day (no offence.) What are the conditions like at the farm?
Ray recently posted..Fun and Free Things to Do in Quito, Ecuador
The conditions are quite good. The ostriches have a lot of room to roam. These ostriches are being raised for their leather, meat and feathers and I when think about what our pigs, cattle and chickens go through here in North America, I feel that these ostriches are doing very well. Plus, something tells me that the show ostriches have a good long life. I think they’re the lucky ones at the farm. They have strict rules and weight limits and there are many ostriches in the corral, so it’s not the same ostrich lugging tourists. It’s good to be concerned though