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The year is rushing towards its halfway mark and you know it because it’s getting colder. But it’s that time of year when visitors go to the beach, but don’t swim; wrap up tightly in front of a fireplace in the evenings; look longingly at the wool and hair on sheep and Angora goats; and lie in just a little later in the mornings waiting for the sun to stick its head out above the horizon. In fact, some people think it’s the best time to travel in the province because there are a lot fewer visitors around.

Hope you enjoy this month’s travel info mailer.

Regards, Jonker

This month, we look at:

• Fish for the history of Geelbek and Jbay’s fishing heritage

• Explore the Sophia Grey-designed St Peter’s Church in Cradock

• Discover the graves of the Rothschilds of Tarkastad

• Learn more about Firefly on Gino’s Spot

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

Memories of Jbay’s fishing history

Fishermen and the fishing industry make up a large part of Jeffreys Bay’s early history. Long before it became a holiday town or world-famous surf destination. Standing proudly near the shoreline of Jeffreys Bay’s main beach, the Geelstert is more than just a weathered fishing boat—it’s a symbol of the town’s rich fishing heritage.

Dating back to the 1960s, Geelstert was originally built in Knysna and formed part of a small but hardworking fishing fleet that once operated along this stretch of coastline. Over the years, the boat changed hands, was renamed, restored, and even abandoned more than once, yet its story never faded.

Painted bright yellow and given the name “Geelstert,” the boat became a familiar sight in Jeffreys Bay, with local fishermen and captains leaving their mark on its history. Along with “Poormansfriend”, Geelstert was one of the last two of the original 20 working fishing boats in Jeffreys Bay.

In the late 1990s, a passionate group of locals came together to preserve this piece of history. Their efforts saw the boat retrieved from where it was abandoned amongst the dunes, restored and moved to its current position, where it now serves as a tribute to the generations of fishermen who once worked these waters.

Today, Geelstert offers visitors a glimpse into the past—a simple yet powerful reminder of Jeffreys Bay’s humble beginnings, its resilient community, and its deep connection to the sea. Plus its another example that a memorial doesn’t have to be a massive bronze or marble statue.

A Sophia Gray church in Cradock

Sophia Gray was the wife of Bishop Robert Gray, the first Anglican Bishop of the Cape of Good Hope. She was a trailblazing Victorian-era designer, recognised as South Africa’s first female architect. Between 1848 and 1871, she designed over 40 Anglican churches across South Africa. Five of these were built in the Eastern Cape, with St Peter’s in Cradock being one of them.

Bishop Gray first visited Cradock in 1848 but found no English Church. In 1849 a site was granted for a church, although the foundation stone was only laid on 19 March 1857. St Peter’s Church was completed in 1858.

The church has beautiful stained glass windows, wooden panels, and brass plaques, all typical of these historic Anglican churches around South Africa. There are several very old graves and family crypts built underground in the churchyard. In one of them lie the remains of a Danish lion catcher’s son. Toger von Abo, one of the famous ‘Danes of Cradock’, set up cages on the town square for the lions he captured and sent on to Europe.

At the entrance to the churchyard stands a lychgate and stone wall, built to commemorate the parishioners who fell in WW2.

The Rothschilds of Tarkastad

There are two Jewish graves enclosed with a low wrought iron fence in the Christian section of the Tarkastad Cemetery. ‎ The two headstones have been cemented horizontally on the graves, like most of the other Jewish graves in the cemetery, to prevent any further damage.

‎Michealis Rothschild and family arrived in SA in 1876 and were resident in Tarkastad around 1883. Their sons, Louis, a corporal in the Anglo-Boer War, and Bernard, were born there. It is unclear when the cemetery land was consecrated, but it had not been established when the 7-month-old Margarita Rothschild passed in 1900, nor when Michealis (aged 54) and his two very young children (13 months and 8 days) all died in 1902. I haven’t been able to find any information on what they would have died of. They were all buried in the gentile cemetery.

‎The first Jewish grave in Tarkastad cemetery was that of Feiga Steinhard, who died in 1908.

In 1929 there were 12 members of the congregation and they purchased a Torah in 1930. The congregation was never big enough to have its own synagogue, so they used a small addition to the local White Hope Masonic Lodge (established 1881) as a gathering place for services and high holy days.

Firefly on Gino’s Spot

Meet Jonker Fourie, the face behind Firefly the Travel Guy, Karoo Heartland Routes and Encounter the Eastern Cape. I was recently the guest on Gino Fabbri’s weekly show, Gino’s Spot, so if you would like to learn a bit more about me, check out the show.

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