South Africa, particularly the Mother City of Cape Town, has always been a popular tourist attraction. More so in recent years when the local government realized that by promoting the city, more people would come to spend money!
What began as a simple product saving device on a local farm has turned into one of the most unusual native art scenes in the country. About thirty years ago, a strawberry farmer near Stellenbosch (about 30 miles from Cape Town) realized that much of the loss of his product was due to birds. He asked one of his farmer laborers to build a scarecrow in the field, which was done. The birds persisted but so did the worker. He enlisted the help of a few friends and they scrounged around the farm for bits of wood, canvas and discarded equipment. The farmer was surprised with their ingenuity and bought paint for them, too.
Over the years, the fields have been decorated with colorful scarecrows, misshapen beasts and amusing vehicle-shaped objects. So much so, that the fields have become their own tourist attraction — foreigners flock to the fences to snap pictures of the wonderful native art!
And, of course, they keep the birds away, too!
