Viljee Keller, one of the new owners, said, "When my brother Johan and I agreed to take over Highgate from the Hoopers, it was like preserving a heritage. Our two families have been friends and neighbours since 1887, when the Kellers and the Hoopers bought the land that became the two farms Highgate and Steyldrift. It is a privilege for us to now acquire Highgate and take it to new horizons."
The Keller family have been in the ostrich business for centuries. Today, they are involved right from the farming of ostriches and eggs to the final production of feathers, leather, egg shells, and meat products. They produce about sixteen thousand chicks and supply the market with eight to ten thousand ostriches per year. The current Keller farms cover four thousand hectares, where they also farm alfalfa, making them self-sufficient in feeding their birds.
"We're bringing this whole ostrich farming value chain to the new Highgate show farm experience," said Keller. "Visitors to Highgate will now experience the production of feather products such as boas and feather dusters, the colouring of the feathers, and the decoupaging of egg shells. The tannery process of the leather and the processing of the ostrich meat will also be explained. And of course the famous Highgate curio shop is well-stocked with everything a tourist could want."
The new tour continues to provide the Kodak-moment essentials: one thousand ostrich chicks, baby ostriches hatching in the incubator, the opportunity for guests to sit on and ride an ostrich, and the chance to emulate David Attenborough and stand on an egg in the nest!
