Great Trek

Read more about the article A Great Trek centenary memorial in Pearston
Firefly the Travel Guy

A Great Trek centenary memorial in Pearston

I enjoy exploring small towns and discovering all the interesting spots that most people probably never get to see as they rush through on their way elsewhere. Driving into the small Karoo Heartland town of Pearston I did what I always do when I visit a new place. I headed straight to the historic NG Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church). Because most small towns have one. In front of the church, I noticed a small stone monument with an inscription and…

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22/09/2023
Read more about the article Looking north with the Andries Pretorius Monument
Firefly the Travel Guy

Looking north with the Andries Pretorius Monument

The Great Trek had a number of leaders that will always be remembered in the Afrikaner history of South Africa. In 1836 Dutch-speaking settlers started moving northeast into the interior of what is today known as South Africa away from the Cape Colony. They were traveling in wagon trains made up of ox wagons and horses seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial administration. One of those leaders was a man named Andries Pretorius from the Graaff-Reinet district. General…

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07/07/2023
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Karel Landman Monument – the globe off the beaten track

Very few people driving along the R72 coastal route between Port Elizabeth and East London have ever seen or even know of the Karel Landman monument about halfway between Nanaga and Alexandria.  The only indication that there is a monument up the dirt road is a road sign at the turnoff.  A couple of kilometers up the dirt road one stands in awe though of the magnitude of this monument in the shape of a globe.  Its huge... and kinda in…

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05/08/2014
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Karel Landman monument

Mens is so gewoond om monumente in dorpe en stede asook langs groot paaie te sien, maar daar is wel monumente wat min mense te sien kry weens waar hulle gelee is.  Die Karel Landman Monument is een van dié en kan gesien word op 'n grondpad so 'n entjie van R72 tussen Port Elizabeth en Alexandria af.  Karel Landman het in die omgewing geboer tot 1837 voor hy een van die prominente Voortrekker leiers geword het.  Landman het 'n groep van omtrent…

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14/08/2012
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Voortrekkermonument

Die monument wat seker die naaste aan die hart van meeste Afrikaners in Suid-Afrika is is die Voortrekker Monument net buite Pretoria.  Die veertig meter hoë monument is in 1949 voltooi en is gebou ter ere van die Voortrekkers wat die Kaapkolonie vanaf 1838 verlaat het en noord na die Vrystaat, die ou Transvaal (vandag Gauteng) en Natal (KwaZulu Natal) met al hulle besittings op ossewaens getrek het. 

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18/06/2012
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Graaff Reinet Statues

I still had a couple of odd monument photos from Graaff-Reinet lying around and decided to put them together and do a "Random ..." post for today. This monument is in memory of Andries Pretorius, one of the Voortrekker leaders. It was erected in 1943 and can be found just outside of town on the way to Middelburg. This is the route to the north and into the interior which the Voortrekkers followed in the 1830's.In one of the residential…

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28/09/2010
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Voortrekker Monument

The Voortrekker Monument stands on top of a hill outside the city of Pretoria and can be seen from all directions as one approaches it. The monument was opened in 1949 and stands 40 meters long, 40 meters wide and 40 meters high. This massive granite structure was built in honour of the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1853 to get away from British rule and find land to call their own.Surrounding the monument building is…

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14/06/2010