Choose Highgate's guided Traditional Ostrich Farm Tour if you want to learn about the birds and see the farm areas described by the operator. Allow about 80 minutes for the tour, plus arrival time. If you only want a meal or the showroom, ask Highgate about access to those spaces before you drive out. Its visitor information describes a guided farm experience and does not publish a self-guided route through the working areas.

What the guided Highgate tour covers

Highgate's tour information describes a visit split between the main yard and the farmlands. The main yard introduces eggs, feathers, incubation and how the farm uses different materials. The farm section covers ostrich anatomy and breeding. If you are going with children, ask the guide to explain the difference between incubating eggs and seeing chicks. A tour about the process can be worthwhile even when there is no hatch to see.

The farm advertises some guided interaction. Ask what is actually offered that day and follow staff instructions around the birds. If your group would prefer to observe from the permitted areas, say so when enquiring and ask what the visit would include. Keep old reviews about rides or shows separate from the operator's current Traditional Tour description.

An ostrich resting on the ground beside several eggs near Oudtshoorn — An ostrich beside eggs near Oudtshoorn in July 2018. Regional archive photo by Satdeep Gill, CC BY-SA 4.0. Displayed at a smaller size.

How much time should you set aside?

Use about 80 minutes for the tour itself. Highgate describes the tour portion of its meal packages as roughly one hour and 20 minutes and gives about two hours and 20 minutes for the combined booking. Allow extra time to get to the farm and check in. The farm's own tour page links to its booking service for availability. Confirm the actual time and party price with Highgate before making another fixed booking.

If a member of the group is unlikely to want the whole guided walk, ask about the distance between the two sections, surfaces, seating and whether companions can wait at the restaurant. Different parts of the visit use different spaces. The food and shop pages alone cannot tell you what the farm route will involve.

Tour only, lunch package or a shorter stop?

Tour only: Choose this when the farm is the focus or you already have lunch plans elsewhere. Reserve the Traditional Tour and keep time on either side of it.
Tour with a meal: Highgate lists Classic and Premier meal packages and says a table is reserved with the package. Its tour page lists a minimum of ten for the dinner options. Ask about the current menu, price and whether your group size fits the departure.
Restaurant or showroom: The Pepper Tree restaurant and Highgate showroom have separate visitor pages. If those are all you want, confirm their hours and whether you can visit independently on your dates. Ask where you can spend time while other members of your party take the tour.

The Pepper Tree page lists Christmas Day as its annual closure. For a different holiday date or a late arrival, ask about the last tour and kitchen hours separately. A restaurant opening time does not establish the final farm departure.

Fit Highgate into an Oudtshoorn day

Highgate's directions use the R328 towards Mossel Bay and the Volmoed turn-off. If you also want to see Cango Caves, keep the two bookings distinct and check the drive between them. Highgate's tour focuses on a working farm. The caves offer a separate guided underground experience with their own current participation and booking rules. Our Cango Caves tour comparison helps you choose that part of the day.

For a relaxed half-day, make Highgate the main commitment and decide in advance whether you want a meal there. If you are only passing through, confirm that the shorter restaurant or showroom stop works for your timing. Call Highgate on +27 44 272 7115 for current arrangements.

Featured photo: An ostrich at Safari Ostrich Farm, a separate Oudtshoorn attraction, in July 2022. © Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and may be cropped for display.

Reviewed by Aqua Terra on 3 November 2026 using Highgate's published visitor information. Confirm current times, access and activity arrangements directly.