Lovely photos send from Germany

Thanks for the lovely pictures from our guests Stephanie and Alex

Valentine Treasures

Valentine treasures are people who have often crossed your mind, family, friends and others, too, who in your life have shined the warmth of love or a spark of light that makes you remember them; no matter how long since you’ve actually met, each one is a luminous gem, who gleams and glows in your memory, bringing special pleasures, and that’s why this Valentine comes to you: You’re one of those sparkling treasures!

Karlien and David wedding 16 Decemebr

The staff at De Zeekoe will go the extra mile to assure a perfect start to a new chapter in your lives together, making it a treasured memory to look back on.

by nanette evenhuis

Mass pedicure session

Locals enjoying a mass pedicure session

Lost Little Owl

This morning early owner Paula went for a jog and found this little owl on the road.

We will make sure that he gets the needed help to survive.

Meerkat Morning at de Zeekoe Guest Farm

We had a comfortable nights rest in our accommodation Oudtshoorn. It was a cold winter morning in when we were met at 7am by Dewie, the Meerkat expert at De Zeekoe Guest House Farm in Outdshoorn. It was about 2 Degrees Celsius with snow falling on the nearby mountains and dawn was breaking with the first light appearing.

Dewie drove us away from the Guest House, across the highway (Route 62) in direction of the town Oudtshoorn to another part of the farm. There we parked and Dewie opened the boot of the car and took out, piping hot tea, coffee and hot chocolate and rusks – a very welcome relief from the cold. It was still a bit too early to walk to the Meerkats – the sun was not  up yet, so we enjoyed our snacks and Dewie gave us the low down of do’s (lots of photo’s, film, sit still, be quiet, whisper) and don’ts (move suddenly, get up and walk around – unless instructed to by Dewie, make loud noise, talk loudly). He also explained very passionately and informatively how the Meerkats live. He also told us about his research and rescue program that he has started for the Meerkats .

So after our little power snack, with the sun struggling to peer through the snow clouds, we took fold up chairs out of a sealed drum (to keep them dry and out of harm’s way from jackals and creatures looking for soft materials to line their nests/burrows) and headed off into the Veld.

As the Meerkats only spend up to 3 days at a time in a particular burrow it is difficult to find them if you have not watched them go into the burrow the night before and seen where they have spent the night.  They attract a lot of fleas and parasites and the longer they stay in one burrow the worse the parasite infestation gets. So they move to other burrows to give the parasites time to die off and then they can move back into the vacant burrow a few days later. So if in the evening you did not see into which burrow they have fled, it could be very difficult to find them before they come out the next day.  After a 10 minute walk with Dewie vying off left and right sniffing the air to locate the Meerkat burrow he finally stopped and said: “Do you also smell that?” we looked at him puzzled. “Can’t you smell it?” he asked again. We looked at each other not sure what we were supposed to be smelling! The Meerkats in the burrow! Of course! But our noses were not that trained and only after about 10 minutes of sitting and waiting did we get a slight whiff of what he meant!

We sat for quite a while (about an hour) too scared to move our toes, which were getting numb in the cold, and too scared to move our hands in case we scared these very shy little creatures away. But they hadn’t even appeared yet!

After about another hour with the sun now peeking out from the clouds, a very alert little face appeared out of the burrow. It wasn’t long before another one appeared. Due to the cold and the sun disappearing all the time, the Meerkats kept disappearing back into the burrow! They need the sun to warm them up in order for them to go in search of food. They have no fat and cannot store the heat.

After a good 3 hours all 15 Meerkats had come out to play. Well the younger ones were playing while the older ones took turns in looking out for predators – birds or jackals, so that they could warn the others to get into hiding quickly if need be.

Dewie also explained how the hierarchy in the family works. Every day it’s different. The older ones urinate on each other; the top Meerkat has only the urine of one on her as she starts it off. The one with everyone’s urine on is of course the bottom of the food chain for that day. The little ones also fight to see who is top and who is flop. If one of them spends the night out, that is it has not made it back to the family burrow before dark, it will be fought off and possibly killed as it has so family sent (urine) on it and they then don’t recognize him! Strangers are not welcome. They are very territorial and only venture into other families territories if they want to take over that area. Usually unsuccessfully!

After about 3 and a half hours, we could not feel our feet and hands and the Meerkats were so busy playing – no one even remotely hungry (but we were), so we called it a day as we weren’t sure if they were going to go hunting any time soon. It would have been fantastic to walk slowly at a distance behind them and watch them as they hunted, but our tummies were rumbling and we were freezing. So we packed up our chairs, took a last look, just to make sure they were not about to go running off and walked back to the car.

Back at De Zeekoe our hospitable accommodation guest farm just outside Oudtshoorn, a warm lovely full English buffet breakfast awaited us with lots of hot coffee, tea and hot chocolate to warm us up.

The experience of being so close to these incredible little animals without them feeling threatened by our presence and letting us share in their family life to was truly a humbling one.

When visiting the de Zeekoe Guest Farm in Oudtshoorn, this surely is a highlight not to be missed.

Lovely Meerkat picture from our guests John & Kathryn Hindson

Early morning sunrise tours. 5 am is the price to pay to see this lovely little creatures

Summer Wedding

Last weekend De Zeekoe was honoured to host the Maree family wedding for 120 pax. The weather was perfect and food define. For more informatoin regarding our weddings email Kristy Seyffert directly to marketing@dezeekoe.co.za

Dining at De Zeekoe

With our new chef and staff De Zeekoe restaurant is the place to dine in Oudtshoorn. now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner ( booking essential ).