graves - Firefly the Travel Guy

Historic Cemeteries of Middelburg Karoo

I have this fascinating interest in old graveyards and cemeteries. There is a calmness and peacefulness to them, and it's often one of the best ways to learn more about a place's history. A roadtrip to Middelburg Karoo has a checklist of places I wanted to see and historic cemeteries were at the top of the list. The more I read, the more intrigued I got. There's not a lot that I found written about the cemeteries, but picking up…

Comments Off

20/01/2026

Firefly the Travel Guy

Jeffreys Bay Historical Fishermen Cemetery

Jeffreys Bay's history is made up of surfers, fishermen, seashells and holiday makers. The town doesn't really have a lot of historical sites or monuments, but between the Kouga Municipality and the Jeffreysbaai Dorp van Drome project, a lot of stories are starting to be told through heritage sites being created. One of these is the Historical Fishermen Cemetery, tucked away on Duine Street in Pellsrus. The little cemetery is one of the oldest graveyards in Jeffreys Bay and is…

Comments Off

05/01/2026

Firefly the Travel Guy

Winston Churchill’s cousin and the Battle of Elands River

Sir Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1940 and is primarily known for his leadership of Britain during the Second World War. He was a prominent statesman, writer, and orator who rallied the British people and guided the nation through the war. Churchill is also remembered for his inspiring speeches and unwavering determination, even in the face of adversity. But did you know Winston Churchill also had involvement in the Anglo Boer War? Churchill arrived in South Africa as…

Comments Off

18/04/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

An Arctic explorer buried in the Karoo?

The Cradock cemetery is probably one of the most interesting ones around. You'll find gravestones of settlers, frontiersmen, nuns, soldiers who fell in the Anglo-Boer War and even one Harry Potter. Another grave I learned about and one I just had to go and find belongs to Reginald Koettlitz. You're probably wondering what makes this grave different and the answer can be found in the grave's inscription. “An explorer and traveller, surgeon and geologist to Expeditions North Polar and Abyssinia…

Comments Off

19/10/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

In search of the Aberdeen bed grave

I would like to believe that I am a true ambassador of the Eastern Cape and know a thing or two about what this beautiful and diverse province has to offer visitors and explorers. Would I go as far as to call myself an expert? Mhe... Not sure. I still have a long list of places I still want to visit and things to see. Until recently one of these was the bed grave between Graaff-Reinet and Aberdeen. The site…

Comments Off

03/08/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

The Roodewal historic site outside Cookhouse

Big monuments and historic buildings are easy to spot and often stand out. It's the ones that are often a bit obscured that very few people actually know about or get to visit. One such site is the Roodewal historic site next to the N10 near Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape. This site doesn't just have one, but three separate heritage-related items all linked to the same place. Roodewal Farm. I knew about one of them because there is a…

Comments Off

23/03/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

A wizard’s grave in Cradock? Here lies Harry Potter

We all know Harry Potter, the boy wizard with his little round glasses and lightning scar on his forehead, created by JK Rowling for her books and turned into a successful film franchise. But what happened to Harry after the fact? Did he perhaps exchange the cold of England and Hogwarts for the warm sun of Cradock and Africa? Cradock’s old cemetery can get quite spooky in the early mornings when the fog hangs around the gravestones of settlers, frontiersmen,…

Comments Off

28/10/2022

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

Uncategorized

Capt Francis Evatt’s gravestone

On a walk along Route 67 the other day I popped into St Mary's Cathedral and was reminded that the original gravestone of Captain Francis Evatt was located in the entrance area of the church. Something a lot of people probably didn't know. Captain Evatt was commander of Fort Frederick from 1817 until his death in 1850 and is often called the Father of Port Elizabeth because of the role he played in the early years of the town's development. Among the…

1 Comment

10/01/2018

Uncategorized

North End Defense Force Memorial

One of the things I discovered while in North End Cemetery is a Defense Force Memorial remembering soldiers who died in service of their country during the first and second World Wars. According to the main plaque the memorial stones commemorate soldiers that were buried elsewhere but who's glory won't be forgotten.

1 Comment

16/08/2017