Discover the village of Riebeek East
Go on a Frog Safari in St Francis Bay
Stretch your legs (and loose your clothes) on the Tsitsikamma’s Striptease Trail
Marvel at the Dutch Reformed Church in Cradock
Learn more about PE / GQ’s Donkin Lighthouse and Pyramid

January 2023

Learn more about the Coelacanth, the living fossil fish
Hike Port Elizabeth’s Sacramento Trail
A UFO landing site at Rosmead in the Karoo Heartland?
Spot the Queen Victoria Profile near Patensie
Be surprised at the Great Fish Point Lighthouse on Route 72

December 2022

Discover fossils at the Kitching Fossil Center in Nieu-Bethesda
Experience the marine wonders of Algoa Bay
Hiking the Assegaai Trails near Grahamstown
A sneaky drive through the Bloukrans Pass in the Tsitsikamma
Watch the Adventure Racing World Champs 2023 promo for the Kouga region

November 2022

Somerset East, Expect the Unexpected
Discover the South African Museum of Literature in Grahamstown
Remember the Blaauwkrantz Bridge disaster of 1911
Visit the Jeffreys Bay Surf Museum
Encounter Waterfall Bluff, the waterfall that drops directly into the sea

October 2022

Learn more about Colchester’s historic Mackay Bridge
Discover the chess board edging in the Mountain Zebra National Park
View rock art in the mountains around Rhodes
Marvel at the Magwa Waterfall on the Wild Coast
Explore the Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve outside Port Elizabeth

September 2022

Stop at the Slagtersnek Monument near Cookhouse
Walking up Lady Slipper Mountain outside Port Elizabeth
Discover the Phillip’s Tunnel in Hankey
The historic background of the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park
Learn about the history of Port Alfred’s Kowie River

August 2022

Walk the Jeffreys Bay Spekboom Labyrinth
Visit St Patrick on the Hill in Hogsback
Discover Harry Potter’s grave in Cradock
Cruise the Sundays River with Addo Cruises and Sand Sledding
Muir, the oldest English speaking boys’ school in SA turns 200

July 2022

Go ghost hunting in the museums of Somerset East
Enjoy the outdoors at Norm Hudlin outside Port Elizabeth
Explore Kenton-on-Sea’s beaches and rock formations
Surf Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay
Stay at Arch Cabins Self Catering in Storms River Village

June 2022

Encounter the spirit of the wolf at the Tsitsikamma Wolf Sanctuary
Learn more about the Kouga Dam near Patensie
Discover Somerset East’s Walter Battiss Art Museum
Did you know that Nelson Mandela Bay is called 5 Biome City?
Meet Huberta the Hippo

May 2022

The history of Bathurst’s Pig and Whistle Hotel
Discover Somerset East’s Glen Avon Waterfall
Learn more about Beervlei Dam near Willowmore
Animals of the Eastern Cape – The Flightless Dung Beetle
Crossing the Storms River Mouth suspension bridge

April 2022

The history of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley
Visit the museums of Graaff Reinet
Learn more about Darlington Dam
Animals of the Eastern Cape – The Cape Ground Squirrel
Discover Takazi Waterfall on the Wild Coast
Video – Tour the Tsitsikamma forest on a Segway

March 2022

Slide down the Rabbit Hole near Middelburg with food out of this world
Marvel at Hogsback’s Madonna and Child Waterfall
Visit Port St Francis, home to the chokka industry
Learn about the Cape Morgan Lighthouse
Crossing the Buffalo River in East London
Video – Tsitsikamma, a world of diversity

February 2022

Meet Samara Private Game Reserve tracker Klippers Pietersen
The Dutch Reformed Church in Kareedouw
Jump into the river pool at Jan se Gat outside Jbay
Download the Amazing Addo wildlife checklist
Find the cathedral mice in Grahamstown
Video – Algoa Bay Whale Heritage Site

January 2022

Discover Eersterivier, the Tsitsikamma’s beach
Explore the dune fields along the Alexandria Hiking Trail
Climb up to Hankey’s Bergvenster
Learn more about the village of Rhodes
Did you know Hofmeyr had a pink church?
10 Things to do in Coffee Bay
All the must see places on the Karoo Heartland Bucketlist
Video – Hike along to the Lower Van Stadens Dam

November 2021

Explore the Shell Museum in Jeffrey’s Bay
Marvel at the Tsitsikamma’s Big Tree
Learn more about the town of Alexandria on Route 72
Meet the Stone Folk of Nieu-Bethesda
Have you heard of the Martello Tower in Fort Beaufort?
SANParks announce the dates for this years SANParks Week
Discover the #AmazingAddo region with a Bucketlist
Video – Enjoy Nelson Mandela Bay’s brand new destination marketing video

October 2021

Discover the secret cove at Shelly Beach in Kenton
Walk the Waterfall Trail in the Tsitsikamma
Taste honey at Pabala in the Gamtoos Valley
A breakdown of all the Eastern Cape’s municipalities
Your own Addo Elephant National Park game viewing area road map
Learn more about the Wild Coast legend of Nongqawuse
Explore Makhanda and the Frontier Country with a Bucketlist
Video – The sights and sounds of the Karoo Heartland, the Eastern Cape’s big sky country.

September 2021

The oldest cake in South Africa is found in Graaff-Reinet
More information about Storms River Bridge
St Francis Bay’s Seal Point Lighthouse
The Diaz Cross at Kwaaihoek on Route 72
Learn more about the history of Hogsback
A Wild Coast Bucket List to plan a visit to this stunning area
Video – Explore the Addo region with an #AmazingAddo destination video

August 2021

Hiking and cycling trails in the Tsitsikamma’s Plaatbos forest
Visit the Wild Coast to cross the Kei River by pont
Swing by Egg Rock outside Cradock
Enjoy the view from Sir Percy Fitzpatrick Lookout near Addo
Discover the Old Thomas River Historical Village between Stutterheim and Cathcart.
Tick off activities from the Route 72 Bucket List
Video – Kouga Baviaans region

July 2021

The legend of Hole in the Wall on the Wild Coast
Bo fly fishing in the Karoo outside Somerset East
Hiking in the Kabeljous Nature Reserve outside Jbay
A little history on the Addo Elephant National Park that turned 90 this month
Info on the labyrinth in Hogsback
A travel Bucket List of the Tsitsikamma
Video – Route 72 on the Sunshine Coast

June 2021

The history of Storms River Village
Information on the Baviaanskloof
The historic Dutch Reformed Church in Nieu-Bethesda
Learn more about the Sundays River
A guide to hiking and the waterfalls in Hogsback
An infograph on the Waters Meeting Nature Reserve outside Port Alfred
Video – Wild Coast

May 2021

The history of the Van Stadens bridges
How water gets from Gariep Dam via the Karoo Heartland to Port Elizabeth
Comprehensive visitor’s guide to Bathurst
Meet the Big 7 with Addo Tourism
Video – Discover the Tsitsikamma

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Cheetah tracking in Mountain Zebra National Park

The winter has well and truly set in. At least Winter Solstice has passed and the days are getting longer again. Welcome to the July 2024 issue of Firefly the Travel Guy’s Encounter the Eastern Cape Travel Mailer. I hope you learn at least one new thing about the province this month.

This month we look at the following:

Discover the Somerset East Museum
Visit the Langkloof town of Kareedouw
Learn more about the 1820 Settlers at the Bathurst Toposcope
Walk through the Arboretum in Hogsback
Please note the recommended alternative route to Addo

If there is something that you would like to see featured in our monthly travel mailer or have any suggestions, please drop us an email at jonker@fireflyafrica.co.za

SUBSCRIBE to this Monthly Travel Mailer

Somerset East Museum

The Somerset East Museum is nestled at the foot of the Boschberg Mountain and is one of the oldest buildings in town.

Wesleyan missionaries were given a site for a chapel and graveyard, and the chapel was consecrated in 1828. In July 1832 the property was transferred to the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk of Somerset and by 1834 Ds. Morgan asked that the chapel be converted into a parsonage for him to live in. The ground floor took on its present design; namely sitting room, passage, and dining room. An upper floor was added, with two large bedrooms. Fireplaces were built in all four main rooms, and yellowwood floors were installed. Two wings were added, one a kitchen and one a study.

The museum is laid out mostly as a residence to depict the lives of the Dutch Reformed Church ministers that resided in the house, but some additional exhibits have been added to include a more rounded history of the area and all its people. One of these exhibits focuses on the Slagtersnek rebellion.

In 1971, the building, held to be “an exquisite example of a Georgian manor house, was made available as a museum. The Museum was inaugurated during the celebration of Somerset East’s 150th anniversary in 1975.

Some interesting discoveries made during the restoration included the tiny grave, complete with headstone, found when damaged floorboards were being replaced in the sitting room. This bears the inscription – Sacred to the memory of Alexander Thomas, son of Rev. S.J.H. Kay, who died on 8th May 1828, aged 12 months.

Things to see and places to stay in Somerset East

Kareedouw

The town of Kareedouw is the first town you pass through as you drive along Route 62 in the Langkloof from the eastern side. The gorgeous little town is nestled up against the Suuranys Mountain with the Tsitsikamma Mountains separating it from the Tsitsikamma to the south and the Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area just beyond the Kouga Mountains to the north.

Kareedouw is a pretty rural town that provides easy access to an enviable outdoor lifestyle that includes the Suurveld, Kouga and Baviaanskloof Wilderness area as well as canoe trips along the Kouga River. You come here to escape it all and revel in the outdoors. And if hiking, camping and traipsing across the countryside isn’t your thing, then you remain safely ensconced in the pretty town, a book in your lap, to drink in the views.

The town is simply laid out on a grid, tin roofs and a large stone church predominate with little evidence of development. The town’s main road has the odd restaurant, shop and petrol station and most of the streets are thick with trees, which is no surprise given that the town’s name comes from the Khoe phrase that means ‘path by the Karee trees’.

The Tsitsikamma is a short 7km drive away on the other side of the Kareedouw Pass.

The Toposcope in Bathurst

The Toposcope in Bathurst is located on the highest point in the village with a stunning view all around. It was close to this site that Colonel Jacob Cuyler made his camp in 1820 while supervising the placing of the settlers in their locations. While camped here at the same time Sir Rufane Donkin chose the site for the administrative centre to be named Bathurst.

The stone beacon is called Bailey’s Beacon and was erected by Captain W. Bailey as an observing station during his survey of the Eastern Districts, 1855 – 1859.

The circular toposcope has 57 plaques reflecting the names and ships of the Settler parties arriving in the Eastern Cape in 1820 and also points out the locations and distances where they were placed. In 2019 the monument was made inclusive and now includes the various Xhosa chiefs who resisted the 1820 Settlers’ efforts to make their homes here and to acknowledge the history they shared during that turbulent time. The new plaques carry the names of the Xhosa king and five chiefs, who with their clans were the settlers’ protagonists, and point to where their kraals were located with distances also indicated.

Things to do and places to stay in Bathurst

Hogsback Arboretum

The Hogsback Arboretum was established in 1884 by the British colonial government. It is a living tree museum by all means with the largest Californian Redwoods (Sequoia Sempervirens) in South Africa.

With indigenous forests being pillaged & destroyed in the Southern and Eastern Cape, the 1st forestry trials took place here in 1890 with the planting of non-indigenous trees brought in from all over the world. The Monterey Pine from North America & Wattles from Australia proved to be fast-growing and thrived. The English Oaks & Japanese Cedars (Cryptyomerias) also did well but didn’t make for good timber. By 1910 some 80ha had been planted.

Today this unique public garden is filled with trees from all over the world. Take a walk through the garden and admire the 39 Steps Waterfall, giant Californian Redwoods, Japanese maples, lilies, and hydrangeas, as well as the rare Cape Parrots, Knysna Loerie and Samango monkeys.

There’s the Garden of Remembrance and the Garden of Love where one can plant a tree as a living memorial to loved ones, and one can also enquire about booking a “Forest Wedding”. The Arboretum is a very popular attraction in Hogsback and the perfect alternative for children, adults and the elderly looking to experience something of nature but isn’t up to the hiking routes.

Things to do and places to stay in Hogsback

Recommended route to Addo

Over the past few months, there have been several incidents involving motorists passing through Motherwell Township en route to the Addo area. Community demonstrations also take place regularly with the road being closed with burning objects and stones thrown at motorists.

Tourism in Addo and the Eastern Cape is being damaged by these ongoing incidents. Whereas the Western Cape has seen tourism grow 30% this year, the estimate is that tourism is down 30% in Addo.

What is frustrating is that Addo itself is a very safe destination, and there are safer roads for tourists to use to get there, but they are not being informed of these. A major complication is that Google has been extremely uncooperative in warning travellers about Motherwell Township.

Addo Tourism is requesting/advising all Guest Houses in the preceding areas along the Garden Route and Nelson Mandela Bay to the Addo to please inform guests of the following:

Do not use Google Maps if it sends you through Motherwell Township near Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha
Addo itself is a safe destination and there are safe alternative routes to get there
Please attach the Addo Tourism tourist map which advises on recommended routes.

Things to do and places to stay in the Addo area

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Somerset East Museum

Kareedouw

The Toposcope in Bathurst

Hogsback Arboretum

Recommended route to Addo