After going through a very special spring where you might have preferred to do like an ostrich and stick your head in the sand (or do they actually do that?). But now it’s finally time to get back on the road with The Pearl. The whole family has of course longed for it really much, since this thing of sitting still in the same place for longer periods is not something any one of us enjoy. We therefore got in the RV and set our sights on Arkösund, for the simple reason that we have never been there. A classic “Husbilsbus” thing to do, in other words. On the way to Arkösund we see a large sign along the road advertising for Vikbolandsstruts, the local ostrich farm. After about 2.4 seconds of consideration, the matter was clear, of course we’ll go there!
Said and done, and we start following the signs for the farm. It became a classic “a small road, which becomes a smaller road, which becomes an even smaller road”, but it was always good signposted. Finally we reach the small gravel road into the yard, and laugh when we see the “warning of ostrich” sign. A few hundred meters later we see the first bird, and a “wooooooooow” is heard through the entire RV. Say what you want, but it’s certainly mighty animals we’re talking about. The first ostrich we encounter, which we think is a male (or is it called a rooster?) is simply brutally large. They can grow to three meters high and weigh a bit over 150 kilos. This was of course not as big, but I can promise that it felt that way. Even I felt pretty small.
Around the farm there are also lots of activities that suit a family with children excellently. There is a little playground with swings, sandbox, seesaw, and to Noomie’s great delight a trampoline. There are also other small animals, including rabbits and chickens, to watch and to pet. For us adults, it was perhaps more interesting to look in the farm shop. There were everything from trinkets to meat and meat products for sale. When we arrived at the farm we were all pretty hungry (and this crazy family is NOT fun to deal with when we are fed), but it was easy to solve with an ostrich sausage in the small diner.
Stick your head in the sand like an ostrich… really?
Summed up, this was a super fun excursion, where we learned a lot about this bird, but above all got to see these mighty animals up close. We’ve seen them before when we’ve been to zoos, but never got this close to them. So we are talking about an animal that can grow to 3 meters long, can run at 80 kilometers per hour, and never ever put its head in the sand. However, we stood and wondered why they were pecking on the ground and on the concrete foundations. Apparently, it’s because they have to have pebbles in their stomachs in order to digest the food. What strange animals!
In the evening we landed at Arkösunds Camping (will be reviewed under campsites later), and we were all pretty tired. But of course we ended the day by cooking an ostrich steak with roast potatoes and café de Paris sauce. The result was awesome, one of the best motorhome dinners so far. Both Linnéa and I thought that the meat is more like beef than bird, and the taste was really great. There will clearly be more of this birdie on the menu going forward. 😉
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