Eastern Cape

Read more about the article A Karoo view from Dam se Kop
Firefly the Travel Guy

A Karoo view from Dam se Kop

Today's post isn't one of a well-known or even public spot, but I do want to show you the expanse of the Karoo in the Jansenville / Darlington Dam district. A couple of months ago we spent a weekend with our church cell group on the farm Wortelkuil of Willie de Wet. Willie farms with goats and sheep, but also offers a bit of hunting on the farm On Sunday morning we all piled onto his bakkie and off-road buggy…

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23/11/2020
Read more about the article Chokka Boats and the source of calamari
Firefly the Travel Guy

Chokka Boats and the source of calamari

Chokka boats in Algoa Bay Fishing boats out in Algoa Bay and St Francis Bay are regular sights to residents and visitors of Port Elizabeth, Jeffrey's Bay and St Francis. These boats can often be seen taking shelter in the bays when bad weather is forecasted and at night it looks like a town out on the water with all the bright lights out there. The majority of these boats are chokka boats with the region being home to the…

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19/11/2020
Read more about the article Penguins at SANCCOB
Firefly the Travel Guy

Penguins at SANCCOB

The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds or SANCCOB centre at Cape Recife in Port Elizabeth does an amazing job as part of the conservation of the African Penguin, especially here in Algoa Bay. The centre was previously known as SAMREC and doesn't just play a huge role in conservation, but also in educating locals and visitors alike. Because of this the centre has become one of Port Elizabeth's main tourist attractions. The activities SANCCOB do include…

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18/11/2020
Firefly the Travel Guy

Orca in Algoa Bay

Over the last couple of weeks local whale watching outfit Raggy Charters has spotted two different pods of orcas on two occasions while out cruising in Algoa Bay. Owner Lloyd Edwards also saw the one pod cruise by Seaview a little less than a week ago. Yesterday there was excitement in St Francis Bay when a pod was encountered in the bay. We are fortunate to have these visitors to the area every once in a while, but I haven't…

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17/11/2020
Read more about the article Plaatbos forest and Storms River Pass
Firefly the Travel Guy

Plaatbos forest and Storms River Pass

The Tsitsikamma is one of my happy places. It is where I go to recharge my soul and get close to nature and that is what we as a family did a couple of week ago. It wasn't a comprehensive charge, but a quick visit one just to breath in the fresh Tsitsikamma air and get away from lockdown at that stage. One of our stops for the day was the Plaatbos Forest section of the Garden Route (Tsitsikamma) National…

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29/09/2020
Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

Penguins on St Croix Island

A little while ago I had the fantastic opportunity to go on a cruise on Algoa Bay with Raggy Charters and it felt like we hit the jackpot that day. Whales, dolphins, bait balls, penguins, and the cherry on top, a killer whale. The cruise was the first opportunity for me to see St Croix Island up close. St Croix Island is home to the largest breeding colony of African penguins in the world. At one stage there were 60…

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18/09/2020
Read more about the article Darlington Dam
Firefly the Travel Guy

Darlington Dam

A few months ago we spent a weekend on a friend's farm near Darlington Dam and he took us for a quick drive to see what the dam looked like. Unfortunately we didn't get to go to the dam wall itself, so my picture is of the runoff below the wall. Darlington Dam, also referred to as Lake Mentz is located off the main road between Kirkwood and Jansenville and was completed in 1922. The primary reason for the dam being…

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04/09/2020
Read more about the article Aloes in the Karoo
Firefly the Travel Guy

Aloes in the Karoo

One of the things I realised during lockdown that I was missing out on was seeing the aloes in bloom while driving through the Eastern Cape's Karoo Heartland. It's definitely one of my favorite things to see on a road trip and the thought of missing out on it this year kinda depressed me. Business travel opened a little while ago and suddenly I had the opportunity to make a quick trip up to Nieu-Bethesda for work. Yay, yay, yay!…

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26/08/2020
Read more about the article Flowering Noors
Firefly the Travel Guy

Flowering Noors

One of my favorite things about driving through the Karoo Heartland during the winter is seeing the aloes in bloom. But there is another Karoo succulent that grows between the aloes that most people don't really notice called Noors. The Noors is a type of euphorbia and found especially around the town of Jansenville. They are smallish, thorny plants with milky sap and the reason that the region is called the Noorsveld.   The origin of the name noors is…

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19/08/2020
Firefly the Travel Guy

Langkloof Proteas

The Tsitsikamma and the Langkloof is linked by a short pass over the mountain between Oudebosch and Kareedouw on the eastern side. The pass only has 7 bends, all of them are minor. It does offer sweeping views of the Tsitsikamma mountains to the left (west) with the green valley on the right dotted with dams. The vegetation changes very suddenly as one crosses over the top and you enter the Langkloof.  After a day in the Tsitsikamma I decided…

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22/07/2020