Travel Blog - Firefly the Travel Guy

A First World War gun in Tarkastad

Tarkastad isn't a big town with many monuments even though there is a lot of history attached to the town. I was very surprised when discovered an old cannon on the corner of Murray Street and Queen Street, a block away from the Tarkastad War Memorial. On closer inspection I discovered a plaque on the gun reading as follows: CAPTURED IN THE GREAT WAR1914 - 18BY THE ALLIED FORCESAND PRESENTED TO TARKASTADBY THE GOVERNMENT I have searched the internet from…

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14/02/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

The Twelve Apostles – the back of Table Mountain

When you think of Cape Town, you think of Table Mountain, with Devil's Peak on one side and Lion's Head and Signal Hill on the other. Behind Table Mountain on the Atlantic Seaboard, you'll find the Twelve Apostles Mountain Range with its magnificent crags, ridges, ravines, and gorges running roughly from Kloof Nek (the saddle between Table Mountain and Lion’s Head) to Hout Bay. Given the name of the series of mountains, you’d think you’d be able to count 12…

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26/01/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Kalk Bay Harbour

It's been more than just a few years since I last visited (and not just driven through) Kalk Bay. In fact, I think the last time was when I was part of the "Our Beautiful Country" television game show and was put up in Kalk Bay for the recording of my rounds). Spending a little time with my daughter before we head back to PE and she stays behind for her second year of university, we played tourist and took…

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23/01/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Who was Commandant Paul Erasmus of Somerset East?

There's a memorial on the Somerset East Dutch Reformed Church grounds in memory of Commandant Paul Erasmus. But who was Paul Erasmus and why is there a memorial dedicated to him? Paul Jacobus Erasmus was born 21 September 1829 in Somerset East. He married Helena Francina Jacoba Vosloo on 24 January 1853. Erasmus was Commandant of the Somersetters as part of the Colonial Forces in Basutoland during the Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion. The was a…

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21/01/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Tarkastad Dutch Reformed Church – A big church in a small town

The small town of Tarkastad is located between Cradock and Queenstown on the R61. It's off the beaten track and most people passing through are traveling between the Transkei area and the Western Cape. Tarkastad has a PEP stores so it can be termed a town. Anything without I would call a village. It's still very small though and I only got to visit it for the first time recently when my son moved there for his first job. The…

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10/01/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

A Moravian Mission church in Clarkson in the Tsitsikamma

I'd like to think I know most of the western part of the Eastern Cape very well. Places like the Tsitsikamma I know like the back of my hand, so I couldn't figure out why I have never been to the Moravian Church in Clarkson when I saw a couple of photos of it on social media recently. Well, it was time for a detour. The village of Clarkson is a former mission station of the Moravian Mission Society. It…

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30/10/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

Somerset East’s Dutch Reformed Church at the top of Beaufort Street

Whenever I visit a new town the first thing I do is to go and find the town's Dutch Reformed Church. In most small towns in South Africa, they are the oldest church in a place and often a beautiful and interesting building. I did just that the first time I drove into Somerset East. These days I visit Somerset East a couple times a year but I still stop by the church every time to try and get a…

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04/10/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The beautiful stone Dutch Reformed church in Kareedouw

Kareedouw is the first town you get when driving along the R62 through the Langkloof coming from the eastern side. Like the rest of the region, it's a beautiful area with the Tsitsikamma Mountains to the south and the Kouga Mountains to the north. Standing with its back to the Tsitsikamma Mountains facing the town is the Kareedouw Dutch Reformed Church. The Kareedouw congregation separated from the Humansdorp Moedergemeente on 9 February 1906. The first call for a minister was…

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13/09/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The magnificence of the Kouga Dam overflowing

It's always a magnificent sight to see any dam overflow and even more so seeing the Kouga Dam overflowing after a prolonged period of severe drought. The Kouga Dam, is located in the Gamtoos Valley about 30km past Patensie en just before the gravel road into the Baviaanskloof. The dam was originally named the Paul Sauer Dam after Paul Oliver Sauer who was the Minister of Lands, Forestry and Water Affairs at the time and represented Humansdorp (a district that…

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09/08/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The on-site scale model of the Kouga Dam

I have visited the Kouga Dam near Patensie in the Gamtoos Valley many times over the years. In fact, back when I was a tourist guide I went there every two weeks with British tourists. In all those years I never knew of the scale model of the dam that can be found close to the picnic areas. A couple of years ago the area around the scale model was cleared and signposted. I finally got the chance to see…

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06/08/2024