Eastern Cape

Read more about the article Traditional Roly-Poly at DikkopVlakte (recipe)
Firefly the Travel Guy

Traditional Roly-Poly at DikkopVlakte (recipe)

A couple of months ago I spent a night at one of my favourite Karoo farm stay spots, DikkopVlakte Gasteplaas between Grahamstown and Bedford. Although they offer self-catering accommodation in the 6 bedroom main house, we were there for a meeting the next day and the owners Tommy and Carine van Kerken joined us for a braai that evening. For dessert Carine "threw" together a traditional Roly-Poly baked pudding. She didn't have a specific recipe on paper but made it…

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10/12/2020
Read more about the article A hike up Lady’s Slipper outside Port Elizabeth
Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

A hike up Lady’s Slipper outside Port Elizabeth

In a way, walking up Lady's Slipper has become for Port Elizabeth what walking up Lion's Head is for Cape Town. At one stage only a few people did it, but lately it has become a very popular outing. Not very far distance-wise, but a tough cookie as far as terrain. It has been on my "To Do" list for so long and the other day I decided to tackle it with the family in tow. As the trail and…

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04/12/2020
Read more about the article Maitland River mouth
Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

Maitland River mouth

The view of Maitland River mouth as you come down the road from Beachview side The Maitland River west of Port Elizabeth really isn't much to write home about. It originates somewhere between the N2 and the sea so isn't very long. Probably not even close to 20km in length. It flows down through Sleepy Hollow farm and then the Maitland Nature Reserve before the last little bit past the famous Maitland sand dune to the sea. The small lagoon…

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01/12/2020
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