Karoo - Firefly the Travel Guy

Tafelberg – The Table Mountain of the Karoo Heartland

Tafelberg is one of the best-known landmarks in the Middelburg (Karoo) district. The flat-topped mountain is a striking mesa‑like mountain rising above the flat plains 21km south of Middelburg along the N10 in the direction of Cradock. Its name literally means "Table Mountain" in Afrikaans. There's just no Devil's Peak or Lion's Head flanking it, nor is there a cable car to get to the top. The flat-topped Karoo Koppies are one of the icons of the Karoo region, so…

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17/08/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Tarkastad’s White Hope Masonic Lodge

The first time we visited Tarkastad I knew it was going to be a very small town and I was expecting to see a beautiful historic church or two, hopefully a war memorial, lots of history and even more charm. One of the things I didn't expect to find was a Masonic Lodge. Driving through the town while doing some sightseeing, I noticed a small stone building. I pulled over to see what the sign on the door said and…

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11/07/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Commandant William Comley Memorial in Somerset East

Two of the lesser-known monuments in Somerset East are both memorials to military men from the area who died in the late 1800s. I don't think many people even know these memorials exist. Definitely very few, if any, from outside of Somerset East. It's monuments like this that I like to find, do a little research on and share with you about. Memorials that people don't know about or have forgotten. Memorials worth discovering. One of these is a monument…

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25/06/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

The Great Fish River Museum in Cradock

I've always had a thing for museums. It's a love that developed from visiting the Port Elizabeth Museum and Castle Hill No.7 as a child, and it has always stayed with me. Museums aren't everybody's cup of tea, but if you want to learn more about a place's history, then the local museum is the place to go. Add to that the fact that most towns have a museum of some kind and you'll know what one of the first…

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11/06/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

A First World War gun in Tarkastad

Tarkastad isn't a big town with many monuments even though there is a lot of history attached to the town. I was very surprised when discovered an old cannon on the corner of Murray Street and Queen Street, a block away from the Tarkastad War Memorial. On closer inspection I discovered a plaque on the gun reading as follows: CAPTURED IN THE GREAT WAR1914 - 18BY THE ALLIED FORCESAND PRESENTED TO TARKASTADBY THE GOVERNMENT I have searched the internet from…

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14/02/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Who was Commandant Paul Erasmus of Somerset East?

There's a memorial on the Somerset East Dutch Reformed Church grounds in memory of Commandant Paul Erasmus. But who was Paul Erasmus and why is there a memorial dedicated to him? Paul Jacobus Erasmus was born 21 September 1829 in Somerset East. He married Helena Francina Jacoba Vosloo on 24 January 1853. Erasmus was Commandant of the Somersetters as part of the Colonial Forces in Basutoland during the Basuto Gun War, also known as the Basutoland Rebellion. The was a…

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21/01/2025

Firefly the Travel Guy

Somerset East’s Dutch Reformed Church at the top of Beaufort Street

Whenever I visit a new town the first thing I do is to go and find the town's Dutch Reformed Church. In most small towns in South Africa, they are the oldest church in a place and often a beautiful and interesting building. I did just that the first time I drove into Somerset East. These days I visit Somerset East a couple times a year but I still stop by the church every time to try and get a…

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04/10/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The Victorian era designed Dutch Reformed Church of Jansenville

Each Karoo town has a different charm and atmosphere just like each one has an unique historic Dutch Reformed Church. The town of Jansenville is in no way any different. The Dutch Reformed Church in Jansenville is unusual in that the bell tower is separate from the church. The church is of typical Victorian-era design, complete with decorative plaster quoins on the corners of the exterior walls. The building was designed by prolific ecclesiastical architect Carl Otto Hager, whose plans…

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24/05/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The original illustrations of the Roberts Birds of South Africa book

A little while ago I visited Graaff-Reinet for a Karoo Heartland Marketing Association meeting at the Drostdy hotel. I arrived a little early and noticed tons of bird pictures up on the walls. While admiring them somebody asked if I knew that they were the original illustrations of the Roberts Birds of South Africa book. Say what? Now there's something I didn't know. Austin Roberts’ The Birds of South Africa was first published in 1940 and has been in print…

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09/05/2024

Firefly the Travel Guy

The All Saints United Church in Somerset East

In 1848, during his travels through the Eastern Cape, Bishop Gray of Cape Town paid a visit to the young town of Somerset. He was struck by the scarcity of clergyman having only seen one in 900 miles of travel from Cape Town. He undertook to arrange for some 20 Anglican ministers to emigrate from England, and because he believed that there were sufficient English settlers and others to support an Anglican Church, he promised to provide the area with…

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20/03/2024