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

*|MC:SUBJECT|*

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Easter has come and gone and now we’re in South Africa’s international trade show season with WTM Africa and Indaba coming up. Wish I had the budget to attend. Anyhow, then we’re heading towards winter. Can you believe how time is flying?

Welcome to the April 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 historic cricket field in the frontier village of Salem
Experience sand sledding down the Colchester dunes
Learn about John Kepe, the Bandit of the Boschberg
Stumble upon Storms River’s wheelbarrow succulent garden
Do you know the history of Jeffreys Bay?

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

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The historic Salem cricket ground in Frontier Country

Aerial photo of Salem Cricket Ground by Ron Mackenzie

The village of Salem is located about 20km South of Grahamstown and was founded as a settlement of the party of 1820 settlers under Hezekiah Sephton. The name is of Biblical origin (Gen. 14:18) and means “peace”; the local application refers to an incident in which Richard Gush succeeded in securing peace with marauding Xhosas by means of a sermon, and gifts of tobacco and pocket knives.

The village’s two churches, the first completed by members of the 1820 settlers’ Sephton Party in 1832, stand elevated above the genteel grass of … a cricket oval.

The Salem Cricket Ground claim to be the oldest ground and club in South Africa which still calls its original ground its home. The first match on this ground was played between colonial settlers in 1844, most probably on a Sunday after the church service.

A road ran through the ground until 1960, when, according to the minutes of a club meeting, permission to fill it in and move it was finally granted. It took six years to get permission to do so after a fielder “running to stop the ball, was hit by a cyclist travelling with head down at full speed”. The road was just there, probably because the settlers wanted to play in front of the church because it played such a big role in their lives that they didn’t care if the road was there or not … Cricket and the church have always been connected.

Sand sledding on the Colchester dunes

Sand sledding with Addo Cruises and Sand Sledding in Colchester / Sundays River Mouth

The Colchester dunes are located along the Sundays River just east of Port Elizabeth. Part of the Alexandria dune field, these dunes aren’t normal beach dunes. They are huge. One of the best ways to experience this stunning place is to cruise down the Sundays River with Addo Cruises and Sand Sledding. But cruising and climbing only allows you to see the dunes for yourself. Why not get the heart pumping a bit and experience them as well on a sand sled? Sand sledding is different from sandboarding in that you don’t have to stand and try to balance to enjoy the experience. Plus you definitely won’t wipe out.

Addo Cruises’ sand sleds are custom-designed and individually hand-made by owner Les Kingma himself. The wooden sleds have been improved over the years to give visitors the ultimate sand sledding experience so there are no struggling to hold on to and pull up a piece of plastic to try and generate speed. All you do is #JustLeanBack and enjoy the ride.

Addo Cruises and Sand Sledding

John Kepe, the bandit of the Boschberg

A scene from "Sew the Winter to My Skin" based on the story of John Kepe

During the late 1940s and early 1950s a notorious vagabond called John Kepe had the town of Somerset East up in arms with a series of petty burglaries, incidences of stock theft and mountainside muggings on the locals.

By the year 1950, local police were logging approximately one incident a week of stock theft and house burglaries from farmers in the Boschberg area. In the meantime, Kepe had succeeded in keeping his true identity as the mysterious Boschberg outlaw a secret. He came into town from time to time to socialise at the community drinking hall and would even join search parties and go on the hunt for himself.

By then Kepe had garnered a reputation among locals. He lived in a secret cave up in the Boschberg and stashed all his ill-gotten gains in another cave nearby. In December 1951 Kepe killed a shepherd and the search for him was stepped up. On the night of 25 February 1952, he was arrested in an ambush and later found guilty by a court of law and executed by hanging at the Pretoria.

A film called “Sew the Winter to My Skin” based on the story of Kepe came out in 2018.

Read the whole story of John Kepe

Storms River’s wheelbarrow succulent garden

The Tsitsikamma is famous for its unmatched natural beauty and adrenalin-pumping activities. Most people visit Storms River Village to use it as a base to explore the indigenous forests, explore the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park and do anything from bungy jumping and ziplining to segway tours and river tubing. The village has several well-known and some lesser-known attractions. One of those lesser-known attractions that most people stumble on by chance while taking a stroll through the village is Oom Kallie’s wheelbarrow succulent garden. The garden was a labour of love created by Oom Kallie over years and even though his health means he is unable to continue his work, some locals hope to continue his legacy.

The history of Jbay

Jeffreys Bay was not always a surf spot. Back in the 1840s Captain Jeffreys, ran a cargo ship, trading up and down South Africa’s East Coast. In 1849 he set up a trading post on the beach at what we know as Jeffreys Bay today and created a distribution point for the local farmers.

By the late 1940s people were coming to Jbay more and more to fish, going out to catch geelbek, steenbra, snoek and leervis. Jbay had developed into a fishing village relatively popular during the holidays.

But Jeffreys Bay was just about to meet surf culture head-on. Bruce Brown’s film The Endless Summer kicked things off when it dropped in 1966. The film’s centrepiece was Bruce’s Beauties in the town of St Francis Bay which led to South African surfers making the trip to the area. In so doing they stumbled upon the more accessible point at Jbay which turned out to be a better surf spot.

One of the surfing world’s crown jewels had been discovered, was mapped and open for business… and pleasure. Located about 3km up the road from the town, there was nothing more than a wave, a dune and an open lot where most surfers camped or slept in their cars… But it was the start of big things.

Trading established the town, fishing developed the town and surfing made it famous. Today it is a popular holiday destination, sought after by both young and old to stay, play and retire in.

Jeffreys Bay Tourism

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The historic Salem cricket ground in Frontier Country

Sand sledding on the Colchester dunes

John Kepe, the bandit of the Boschberg

Storms River’s wheelbarrow succulent garden

The history of Jbay