Eastern Cape - Firefly the Travel Guy

Slagtersnek, reminders of a Boer rebellion in the Karoo Heartland

If you're driving along the N10 south of Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape and you keep your eyes open on the eastern side of the road, you'll spot a monument that remembers quite a significant piece of history linked to this district's early years. A sign on the gate identifies it as the Slagtersnek (or Slachtersnek) Monument, but what is Slagtersnek, what happened here and what led to it? Back in the early 1800s this area was the eastern border…

Comments Off

30/08/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy / Port Elizabeth Daily Photo

High Tea at the Boardwalk Hotel

For some reason when I hear somebody mentioning afternoon tea, I tend to imagine ladies in hats and Victorian dresses, men dressed smartly, cucumber sandwiches, and croquet on the lawn. What is the difference between afternoon tea and high tea though? Afternoon tea is a British food tradition of sitting down for an afternoon treat of tea, sandwiches, scones, and cake. Afternoon tea is normally served around 4 p.m and became fashionable in the early 19th century. The phrase high…

Comments Off

01/08/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Beervlei Dam, the dam that was built to be empty

Motorists traveling along the N9 from the interior via Graaff Reinet and Aberdeen towards Willowmore would notice a huge empty dam on the right. It’s not empty because of drought though. The Beervlei Dam is supposed to be empty. The dam was completed in 1957 as a flood control dam to help protect areas downstream on the Groot River when good rains do happen. The Karoo sediments in the area contain a lot of salts and it has been found…

Comments Off

27/07/2022

Read more about the article The museum ghosts of Somerset East

Somerset East Old Parsonage Museum ghost stories

Firefly the Travel Guy

The museum ghosts of Somerset East

You know that feeling when you walk around a very old place, often on your own? Yes, that feeling when you think to yourself that you really don't want to be alone there after dark. That feeling that you are sure something goes bump in the night there. Yes, thaaaaaatttt feeling. The one when the hair on the back of your neck rises and something crawls slowly down your spine. Somerset East has two excellent museums with a lot of…

1 Comment

22/07/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Marveling at a beautiful Karoo Heartland sunset from Bruintjieshoogte

If you travel eastwards on the R63 from Graaff Reinet, you drive along fairly flat terrain all the way through the town of Pearston. You will only encounter the first significant change in elevation 20km east of the town when you start to ascend the Bruintjieshoogte Pass on the way to Somerset East. The pass is named after the surrounding Bruintjieshoogte mountain range which lies between the Sundays River, Renosterberg, the Groot Winterhoek Mountains and the Sneeuberge. The range forms a watershed for the Little Fish River (a tributary…

Comments Off

03/07/2022

Read more about the article The grave of Ouma Dora Jacobs in Somerset East

Ouma Dora's grave

Firefly the Travel Guy

The grave of Ouma Dora Jacobs in Somerset East

I have a particular interest in historic graves. They often tell a tale of an era long past in a way books can't. But sometimes a grave from the modern era holds just as many stories. Such a grave I found in Somerset East, set back in the trees at the end of a lane next to the Somerset East Museum. This is the grave of Ouma Dora Dotyi Jacobs who at the time of her death at the ripe…

Comments Off

24/06/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Fungi in the Tsitsikamma forest

The Big Tree is one of the Tsitsikamma's most iconic attractions. To get to this 1000-year-old Outeniqua Yellowwood tree you have to walk about 500 meters through the forest on a wooden boardwalk. It takes you less than 10 minutes to get to the tree. Unless you're there on a quiet day with no other visitors around and you keep an eye out for interesting little tidbits next to the path. I did just that on my last visit, with…

Comments Off

19/06/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Moonlight cactus flowers in the Sundays River Valley

I recently attended the opening of the revamped Sir Percy FitzPatrick Lookout in Sunland hosted by Addo Tourism and was amazed by the beautiful flowers blooming all around it. I knew it wasn't indigenous but had no idea what it was, so I just took loads of photos of it anyway. A little research with the help of Google Lense later and I now know that this is the Moonlight Cactus, (Selenicereus grandiflorus), also called Moon Cactus. It is a…

Comments Off

03/06/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Karoo views and landscapes along the Swaershoek Pass

I don’t know how many times my tourism friends in Cradock and Somerset East have asked me if I have driven over the Swaershoek Pass yet. I just heard about the beautiful Karoo landscape and stunning views but because the route is 76km of dirt road I’ve been a little hesitant. But that changed recently when the N10 road outside Cradock was blocked due to protests and I had to take the alternative between the two mentioned towns in the…

Comments Off

04/05/2022

Firefly the Travel Guy

Percy’s Place – the most scenic view in the Sundays River Valley

I'm sure most South Africans have read, or at least heard, of the book Jock of the Bushveld. The book was written by Sir Percy FitzPatrick, (24 July 1862 – 24 January 1931) who in his younger years was involved in gold and diamond prospecting in Mpumalanga where Jock of the Bushveld also plays off. He also had involvement in the Anglo Boer War and politics. Not many may realise though that the Sundays River Valley has very strong links…

1 Comment

27/04/2022