Encounter the Eastern Cape

Home
Encounter the Eastern Cape

Jonker Fourie of Firefly the Travel Guy brings you the beauty of the Eastern Cape through his camera lens. A province of diverse scenery, history and cultures.
(1)

If you don't have anything positive to contribute then please don't comment.

26/06/2025

One of the activities offered in the Mountain Zebra National Park outside Cradock is Cheetah Tracking. You join a ranger on a drive into the park in search of the park's wild cheetah. When a signal from a collared cheetah is found, you hop off the vehicle and proceed on foot in search of the park's spotted big cats.

25/06/2025

The roads through the Karoo Heartland lead to many interesting destinations. Pack a bag, choose a destination and go explore.

Visit the Karoo Heartland's website and find everything there is to see in the Eastern Cape Karoo. Drop me a line if you would like your establishment listed on the site.

Planning a visit to the Karoo Heartland?
Visit the Karoo Heartland website at www.karooheartland.com for more information on things to see, accommodation, restaurants and activities

24/06/2025

Graaff-Reinet is the town with the most historic buildings and monuments in South Africa, with over 220 listed. When you walk down Parsonage Street from Reinet House, you pass several historic buildings and museums in a very short distance. Here's the Johan Rupert Theatre with the Drostdy Hotel in the distance.

23/06/2025

The first Dutch Reformed congregation (and also the first church) in Cradock was established back in 1824, 10 years after the town received its name. The present Dutch Reformed Mother Church building, situated on the upper end of Church Street, was completed on the original site as the first church in 1868. The building’s design was based on St. Martin's-in-the-Field on Trafalgar Square in London.

20/06/2025

I was in Jeffreys Bay briefly this morning and the westerly wind was pumping, which means Supertubes were barreling. The Jbay Open takes place in three weeks, and if the waves look like this, it's going to be an awesome show!

19/06/2025

Just outside Graaff-Reinet, on the way to the Valley of Desolation, you'll spot a monument on the left-hand side overlooking the Nqweba Dam.

During the Anglo-Boer War, Gideon Scheepers formed his own commando, which operated in the Cape Midlands. He was captured by the British troops and charges of alleged war crimes were laid against him. At the court hearings in Graaff-Reinet, he was found guilty and sentenced to death and was executed by firing squad in the dry river bed of the Sundays River in an area now covered by the Nqweba Dam.

A memorial to honour this Afrikaner leader, regarded by many as a hero, was erected by the Graaff-Reinet Afrikaans Cultural Society. This memorial can be found approximately 2km from the town on the Murraysburg road, on a site as near as possible to the place of ex*****on. The memorial comprises of three rocks from the vicinity supporting a stainless steel needle, symbolising the spirit of hope and faith in God. The largest rock represents the steadfastness of the then young Afrikaner nation. The two tilted boulders it supports symbolise this nation – suppressed but not fallen. A fourth boulder alongside bears the inscription.

18/06/2025

One of the best-known landmarks in the Tarkastad district, located at an elevation of 1454 meters above sea level, is the pair of Karoo Koppies known as Mary and Martha. They sit like two heavy women on a stoep, weary from a day’s hard work, awaiting the return of men from the fields.

Originally called the Tweeling Berge (Twin Mountains), the name Mary and Martha was given to the koppies by the daughters of John Ayliff in the mid-1800s. They named it after the biblical sisters Martha and Mary.

17/06/2025

An unusual view of the Storms River Bridge. The bridge, completed in 1956, was one of the first arch bridges in South Africa. It spans 100m over the gorge at a height of 123m above the river. One can walk along the bridge on a catwalk on both sides and cross under it for this view.

16/06/2025

Construction on the Kouga Dam near Patensie in the Gamtoos Valley began in 1957 and the dam was opened in 1969. A scale model of the dam was built a couple of hundred meters below the dam wall site to test the design and see what would happen in case of flooding. The miniature was built at an exact scale with the correct curvature of the wall and slope of the mountain.

14/06/2025

Entering the game viewing area of the Camdeboo National Park outside Graaff-Reinet. Most people think that the Camdeboo National Park is really just the Valley of Desolation, yet it's a lot more than that.

The park has about 19 km of gravel roadways, providing visitors with the opportunity to view the entire range of indigenous species in their preferred habitats.

Fifty-one mammal species have been recorded in Camdeboo National Park. The mountain reedbuck is categorised as Endangered, the Cape mountain zebra as Vulnerable, and the grey rhebok, African buffalo, Cape clawless otter and brown hyena are categorised as Near Threatened.

Other animals include gemsbok, red hartebeest, eland, black wildebeest and springbok.

13/06/2025

A fishing boat takes shelter in Algoa Bay while a flock of terns hunker down on the rocks, hiding from the wind.

12/06/2025

The Tarkastad War Memorial stands in the middle of the intersection of two of the main roads in town and is quite an impressive monument. It was erected after the First World War and has three plaques with the names of men from the district who lost their lives during the war. After World War II, a plaque was added with the names of the men who died in that war.

The main inscription on the memorial says the following:

1914 – 1918
THEY WHOM THIS MEMORIAL
COMMEMORATES WERE NUMBERED
AMONG THOSE WHO AT THE CALL
OF KING AND COUNTRY LEFT ALL
THAT WAS DEAR TO THEM, ENDURED
HARDNESS, FACED DANGERS AND
FINALLY PASSED OUT OF THE
SIGHT OF MEN BY THE PATH OF
DUTY AND SELF SACRIFICE, GIVING
UP THEIR LIVES THAT OTHERS
MIGHT LIVE IN FREEDOM.

LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER SEE TO IT
THAT THEIR NAMES BE NOT FORGOTTEN

Address

Website

https://www.fireflyafrica.co.za/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Encounter the Eastern Cape posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Encounter the Eastern Cape:

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Contact The Business
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?

Country:

City: