Caught in the press
What if the story of the Eastern Cape was never really about borders, battles, or settlement at all? For 60 000 years, people living on this landscape faced the same question: how do you survive on land where the rains never quite behave the same way twice?
Frontier History shaped by climate over 60000 years
In this engaging feature from Inyathi (July 2025), journalist Stephen Kennedy joins Alan Weyer on one of his signature Eastern Cape history tours. With a sharp eye for detail and a deep respect for place, Kennedy captures the unique blend of storytelling, landscape, and lived experience that makes these journeys so memorable. From crumbling forts to mountain passes rich with memory, this article offers a vivid glimpse into a tour that brings South Africa’s complex frontier history to life. Read the full piece and walk the path of the past.
A Journey Through the Eastern Cape’s Frontier Past
Spirits of the Past Talk
Talking point: Personality tour guide – Alan Weyer
Writes Makana Tourism “Ask anyone – go on, ask them – which event in South African history was the most significant. They might give many answers, but no-one will mention Grahamstown. Very few people know, actually, that South Africa as we know it today hinged on a single, short battle just outside this little city.”
Alan answered in this great write-up about his infamous talks on the hillsides of history.
Truth is stranger than fiction here
An Alan Story captured in press, this time by Jim Freeman for the Citizen Sunday.
As life would have it Rob Caskie happened to be heading in my direction again and joined us for a couple of days en route to Graaff-Reinet. Of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a chat which went from proud Xhosa leader and war tactician Chief Maqoma to Winston Churchill in the Sudan. It’s always a great experience spending time bringing our world in history alive together. Enjoy!
History is more than a story of the past, it’s a lens for understanding the world today. In his latest reflection, Alan shares his thoughts on the year gone by, drawing on South African history to highlight enduring patterns, human resilience, and what these stories might reveal about global dynamics in 2026.
What the Eastern Cape can teach the World about 2026
1878 What will the New Year bring
Two vessels, one ruse, and a clash that echoed through the waves of history
A battle won that the British should have lost
