Firefly the Travel Guy

Read more about the article Blue Cranes at sunset
Firefly the Travel Guy

Blue Cranes at sunset

As the sun was setting in the west after an amazing game drive at Samara Private Game Reserve near Graaff-Reinet, we stood with gin and tonics in hand enjoying the end of another stunning late winter Karoo Heartland day. Suddenly we heard a noise over a nearby rise. The 'krraaarrr krraaarr’ call of blue cranes. Not one or two, but a flock of at least 60 or 70 coming in to overnight at the nearby waterhole. They first did us…

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07/09/2021
Read more about the article A Nieu-Bethesda fossil tour
Firefly the Travel Guy

A Nieu-Bethesda fossil tour

Many many millions of moons ago the Karoo was an inland sea which over time slowly started to shrink. About 265 million years ago, the Beaufort Group of rocks within the Karoo sequence was beginning to be deposited by massive rivers draining into the shrinking inland Ecca Sea. As these rivers filled the basin with sediment that entombed the remains of land animals that lived around them. This period is known as the Permian Period and took place around 50…

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25/08/2021
Read more about the article A Gamtoos Valley outing
Firefly the Travel Guy

A Gamtoos Valley outing

The Gamtoos Valley with it's citrus farms, beautiful scenery and interesting little corners is one of our favorite day excursions to just get out of the city for a bit. The advantage is that it is nice and close to Port Elizabeth, so you are in the valley after like only a 40 minute drive. We try to see and do something different every time we go which is probably two or three times a year. Our latest outing produced…

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13/08/2021
Read more about the article Nieu-Bethesda valley view
Firefly the Travel Guy

Nieu-Bethesda valley view

Nieu-Bethesda is a quiet little village. One for contemplation and somewhere you go to find yourself again. There are a few places you can do it during a visit, but one of my favorites is with a flask of coffee and a lunch (breakfast) box filled with rusks up at Mariette se bankie at the Uitkyk. From here you can see the whole valley with the village on the far side and towering Compasberg in the background. Let's keep this…

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10/08/2021
Read more about the article Mountainside cycads at Kuzuko
Firefly the Travel Guy

Mountainside cycads at Kuzuko

Cycads, or as we know them in Afrikaans, Broodbome, (all Encephalartos species and Stangeria eriopus) are the most threatened plant group in South Africa. They are also one of the most threatened groups of plants in the world. In South Africa almost 70% of our cycad species are threatened with extinction, with four species on the brink of extinction and seven species with fewer than 100 plants left in the wild. In South Africa it is illegal to buy or…

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28/07/2021
Read more about the article Going on a game drive at Kuzuko Lodge
Firefly the Travel Guy

Going on a game drive at Kuzuko Lodge

Over the Zuurberg mountains in the southern part of the Eastern Cape's Karoo Heartland lies a place of glory. That bit should actually be written with caps as Kuzuko Lodge's slogan is Place of Glory. Most game reserves are located in a part of the province where lush subtropical thicket vegetation is prevalent which makes Kuzuko different. Wide-open spaces, sparse vegetation, dry climate and often warmer temperatures. Due to this Kuzuko doesn't have big numbers of animals like the other…

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21/07/2021
Read more about the article Antie Evelyn se Eetplek in Nieu-Bethesda
Firefly the Travel Guy

Antie Evelyn se Eetplek in Nieu-Bethesda

Some people have eating in a 3 Michelin star restaurant in Paris on their bucket lists. Others want to eat in a restaurant because a certain famous chef designed the menu. I wanted to have dinner at Antie Evelyn se Eetplek and when the opportunity arose I packed my overnight bag and headed into the Eastern Cape's Karoo Heartland to the village of cement owls, fossils, leivore and Auntie Evelyn. Nieu-Bethesda. Auntie Evelyn Oliphant has been running her little restaurant…

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13/07/2021
Read more about the article Zebra in Addo
Firefly the Travel Guy

Zebra in Addo

The age old question about zebra that every tourist guide asks his guests when driving through Addo Elephant National Park. Is a zebra white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Today I want to share with you some "Did you know?" facts about these donkeys in pajamas. Addo's zebra are Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) and is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Zebra stripe patterns are…

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29/06/2021
Read more about the article Addo roadblocks, big butts and all
Firefly the Travel Guy

Addo roadblocks, big butts and all

Don't you just hate a road block? A lady or gent in uniform with a reflector jacket walking around your car and then asking you for your license. Or the "in thing" lately, the burning tires and throwing stones type roadblock. Or the pothole in the road roadblock where you have to wait for cars from the other side to pass before you can drive around it. Then there are the roadblocks you encounter on the roads in the old…

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15/06/2021
Read more about the article Mamma elephant in the lead
Firefly the Travel Guy

Mamma elephant in the lead

A group of elephants is called a herd and is usually made up of females and youngsters. As soon as a young bull reaches sexual maturity he gets nudged out and joins other bulls in a bachelor herd of some sorts. Each herd is basically a family group led by a matriarch, an older and more experienced female, and is made up of her sisters, daughters and their calves. The matriarch needs to be a lady of wisdom, strong connections…

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11/06/2021