monument - Firefly the Travel Guy

The Chair Monument in the Karoo

Monuments and memorials come in all shapes and sizes and by different names. By name, the Chair Monument outside Middelburg in the Karoo Heartland may have you confused. Why would they put up a memorial to a chair? Was it a simple wooden stool or is somebody celebrating their beloved lazyboy? In fact, although a chair was involved, the monument is an Anglo Boer War related memorial and commemorates Commandant J. C. Lötter and his right-hand man, Lieutenant Pieter Wolfaardt.…

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01/12/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

A weird monument of rocks dedicated to Gideon Scheepers outside Graaff-Reinet

If you drive out of Graaff-Reinet on the Murraysburg road toward the Valley of Desolation, you may notice a strange looking memorial on the left-hand side near the Nqweba Dam. Monuments are normally big marble or stone memorials and statues with a bronze plaque but this one is anything but. The Gideon Scheepers Memorial is made up of three rocks from the vicinity supporting a stainless steel needle, symbolising the spirit of hope and faith in God. The largest rock…

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25/10/2023

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

Firefly the Travel Guy

Take Graaff-Reinet Anglo Boer War memorial

Graaff-Reinet isn't just the sixth oldest town in South Africa or the town with the most historical monuments in the country. The town and its district also have a rich history of Voortrekker history, Anglo-Boer War history and history connected to the freedom struggle. One of the monuments in town that not a lot of people get to see is the Anglo-Boer War Memorial on the corner of Donkin and Somerset Streets. It's a pity because it's actually a striking…

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12/09/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

An angel of victory and peace in Graaff-Reinet

When you drive up the main road through Graaff-Reinet the magnificent Dutch Reformed Church (Groot Kerk) awaits you at the top of the street. As you drive around the church you find the town's beautiful Town Hall hiding behind it and perched in the Mayor's Garden stands a statue of an angel holding a sword. Three months after the end of the First World War a decision was made to erect a monument in honour of the gallant Graaff-Reinet men…

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09/08/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

A French Huguenot memorial in the Karoo

When you think of the French Huguenots you automatically think of Franschhoek surrounded by mountains, greenery, and vineyards. And wine, let's not forget the wine. So try and imagine then a memorial to the French Huguenots in the Karoo Heartland town of Graaff-Reinet. On 31 December 1687 the first group of Huguenots set sail from France as part of a large-scale emigration of Huguenots to the Cape of Good Hope due to religious persecution. About 350 Huguenots eventually settled at…

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28/07/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

Remembering the Independence of Graaff-Reinet

Did you know that Graaff-Reinet declared independence from the Cape Colony at the end of the 1700s? Or that there is a monument commemorating this event in town? I knew about the shortlived independence but even though I have been to Graaff-Reinet many times before I didn't realise there was a monument to it. On my last trip I knew what to look for and finding it really was a facepalm moment. If it was a snake it would have…

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24/07/2023

Firefly the Travel Guy

The Union Monument pyramid in Graaff-Reinet

The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt are one of the most famous monuments in the world. At some stage in history, pyramids also became very popular grave markers. Probably the best-known pyramid monument in South Africa is the Donkin Memorial in Port Elizabeth, erected by Sir Rufane Donkin in memory of his wife Elizabeth in 1820. Imagine my surprise when I found out that there is a pyramid monument in Graaff-Reinet as well. This monument overlooks the town from the…

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19/07/2023

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

Firefly the Travel Guy

A whistlestop visit to Orania

I love exploring small towns. There's just something about them and the history you find there. But what if it's a small town that technically is new and without its own history yet still has a lot of history in it? Sounds confusing, doesn't it? There is one such place that has been on my bucket list radar for quite some time. The Afrikaner enclave of Orania. Partly to see what the town looks like for myself, partly to visit…

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02/06/2023