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South Africa Travel + Tourism Guide: Port Elizabeth

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Port Elizabeth

biggest city in Eastern Cape Province - 1.5 million inhabitants
fifth largest city in South Africa
center of South Africa's motor vehicle industry
city dates back to 1820s
named after the wife of Rufane Shaw Donkin, 19th century governor of Cape Colony
known as the "friendly city" or "windy city"
located in the south east of South Africa

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Port Elizabeth.

Port Elizabeth (PE) situated on the Eastern Cape coast, more or less half way between Cape Town and Durban is known as "the friendly city".

Straddling Algoa Bay, Greater Port Elizabeth is now known as Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

A new stadium is currently being built for 2010 and should be available as one of the venues of the Confederation Cup scheduled for 2009. For the World Cup the city will host first and second round matches and a quarter final. The stadium is in North End which is very conveniently situated just to the north of the CBD. and close to major motorways.

Port Elizabeth is small harbour city of 1.5 million people with its centre about the size of Southampton in England. The ocean with fine sandy beaches extends from the northern to the southern limits. Watersports play a large part in the lives of PE's inhabitants with yachting, windsurfing, kiteboarding and surfing being major pastimes.

Reminders of Port Elizabeth's colonial past are the stone Fort Frederick built in 1799 by British troops to defend the area against a possible attack by the French. and the Donkin Reserve with a lighthouse and a stone pyramid commemorating

For surfers the legendary Jeffrey's Bay (J-Bay) and Cape St Francis are one hour's drive south - attractive coastal villages in their own right with a definite "laid back" feel they are doubly worthwhile visiting if the surf is "up".

Another coastal village worth seeing is Sundays River, half an hour along the national road to the north of the city, where the river flows between giant sand dunes to the ocean.

In the same direction but inland is the fabulous Addo National Park (Tel: 042 223 0556), presently being extended , and home to the "Big 5" wild animals. Elephant particularly are prolific at in the park.

Wilderness Beach.

If you are going to watch a game in Port Elizabeth, Addo is a must. Game drives with expert rangers are available mostly at dawn and dusk - the best time for animal spotting. In fact Addo with its safari camps would be a great place to stay for a night or two, and driving time to the stadium is less than an hour.

Should you wish to bask in luxury there is a second, more luxurious, private game reserve - Shamwari - 20 minutes north of Addo.

Still further along the coast to the north are the prestige seaside towns of Port Alfred and Kenton on Sea, which are about 1 hour 30 minutes drive from Port Elizabeth. Port Alfred, in particular, is a pleasant town with the wide Kowie River flowing past riverside homes and through a pristine residential marina to the sea.

Port Alfred was a port during the days of sailing ships and the small wharf side warehouses can still be seen.

The English settlers that arrived in this part of the world in 1820 brought some of their traditions with them and there is a monument and a typical English pub in the small village of Bathurst, 12 kilometres inland from Port Alfred on the road to the old university town of Grahamstown. Bathurst is the centre of the local pineapple growing region and visits to local farms can be arranged.

Port Elizabeth is a compact city and accommodation, from 5 star hotels to guest houses and hostels is available close to the beaches, to the south east, in Humewood which is 5 kilometres from the stadium, and Summerstrand, a little further beyond.

Slightly inland from Humewood is the lively suburb of Walmer which also has good guest houses.

The night life also tends to centre around these areas with good pubs, restaurants and night clubs. In Humewood there is the new lakeside Victorian style entertainment complex named the Boardwalk which encompasses three and four star hotels, a Wellness centre, cinemas, restaurants, amphitheater, children’s entertainments and a casino.

Within 5 minutes walk of the Boardwalk, in an area called Happy Valley, is the Oceanarium where there is an excellent daily dolphin show. The Port Elizabeth Museum complex which has displays relating to the 1820 Settlers is next door.

Tourist Offices

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (Tel: 041 585 8884; 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri; 9.30am-3.30pm Sat & Sun) is housed in an historic lighthouse at Donkin Reserve overlooking the city.

Getting There

Air

Port Elizabeth has a domestic airport with daily flight connections to Cape Town International Airport, Johannesburg International Airport, Durban, Bloemfontein, East London and George (on the Garden Route ).

The airport is very centrally situated, close to the city centre (5 km), and the suburbs of Walmer and Humewood. The airport hopes to accommodate international flights by 2010.

Rail

The railway station is in the centre of the city and has good services to Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and the north. The Shosholoza Meyl overnight train runs to Jo'burg (18 hours) via Bloemfontein. The services to Cape Town and Durban are long and time consuming.

Bus

Luxury coaches connect PE to all the other World Cup venue cities including Cape Town (12 hours), Johannesburg (15 hours) via East London (5 hours), Durban (15 hours) via Grahamstown (2 hours, 30 minutes).

Getting Around

The recommendation would be to drive to Port Elizabeth for whichever direction you are coming from there is beautiful and typically South African scenery along the way.

From Cape Town - travelling along the major N2 route, visitors pass through the renowned Garden Route which, situated between Mossel Bay and Humansdorp, takes in long sandy beaches, small coves, wild surf and gentle bays, the stunning lake districts around the Wilderness, Sedgefield and Knysna, the mountain passes of Grootriver and Blokraans (drivable but both now just off the main road), and the thick forests of Tsitsikama National Park, Natures Valley and Knysna.

En route it would be worth considering staying over at either the country’s beautiful premier seaside resort of Plettenberg Bay or the picturesque lagoon side town of Knysna with its many craft shops and markets.

There are first rate golf courses, some favoured by Ernie Els who has his family home in this area.
Slow drive time Cape Town to PE is about 10 hours.
From Durban - again on the N2 route you travel through the Transkei and Ciskei homelands of the Xhosa people.
DAYTIME ONLY due to the number of cattle roaming freely along the road.

Between Kokstad in the north and almost as far down as East London the countryside consists of green rolling hills with the Xhosa hut villages dotted far into the distance. This is the area were Nelson Mandela was born and raised.

From East London you can take the coastal road through Port Alfred, or the main N2 route through the old university town of Grahamstown.

Slow drive time Durban to PE is about 12 hours.
From Bloemfontein (and Johannesburg and Pretoria) - not the shortest route , but the most attractive.
Take the N8 out of Bloemfontein towards Ladybrand and the Lesotho border. At Ladybrand turn south on the R26, the mountains of Lesotho to your left accompany you southwards while the road travels through rich farmland.

After crossing the Orange River at the old town of Aliwal North you enter the dryer typical Karoo landscape of bare rocky soil which continues until the awesome Olifantskop Pass after which you enter into the fertile fruit growing area leading down to the N2 route close to Sundays River.
Slow drive time Bloemfontein to PE is 7 hours.

Map of Port Elizabeth - see a scrollable map of Port Elizabeth showing the location of the soccer stadium.

Security

The South African government are aware that public safety is a major issue and are determined to increase the quantity and proficiency of the police force over the next couple of years.

Car Hire

All the major car hire companies are well represented in all major cities and at the airports. Cheaper less exclusive local companies also offer vehicles for hire.

Rent A Car With Holiday Autos

Rent A Car With Sixt

Accommodation

Featured Hotels

Beacon Island Plettenburg - 3 Star Hotel
City Lodge - 3 Star Hotel
Garden Court King's Beach - 3 Star Hotel
Protea Hotel Keurbooms River Plettenburg - 4 Star Hotel
Protea Hotel Marine - 4 Star Hotel
Summerstand - 3 Star Hotel
NH Hotel - 5 Star Hotel

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Eating

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Drinking

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Internet Cafes

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Football Teams

There are reports that South Africa's first soccer match took place in Port Elizabeth in the 1860s but the city has no teams as yet in the South African Premier League.

Bay United play in the second-tier Mvela Golden League.

The South African professional soccer season runs from September to May. Port Elizabeth's World Cup stadium is the spectacular 50,000 seater Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Weather

Port Elizabeth has a mild winter climate with daytime temperatures in June and July averaging 21 degrees Centigrade, going down to 10 degrees Centigrade at night. There is normally some rain over the winter period.

Kevin Wilyman