EASTERN CAPE
Eastern Cape Accommodation for Eastern Cape Businesses, Eastern Cape History and Eastern Cape interesting Information about Cape St Francis, East London, Jeffreys Bay, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth and Port Alfred
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho.
It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, as well as the eastern portion of the Cape Province. Landing place and home of the 1820 settlers. It is partly the traditional home of the Xhosa, and the birthplace of many prominent South Africans, such as Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko and Charles Coghlan.
The landscape is extremely diverse. The western interior is largely arid Karoo, while the east is well-watered and green.
The Eastern Cape offers a wide array of attractions, including 800 km of untouched and pristine coastline along with some particularly splendid beaches, and "big-five" viewing in a malaria-free environment.
The Addo Elephant National Park, situated 73 km from Port Elizabeth, was proclaimed in 1931. It offers sanctuary to 170 elephants, the last Cape buffalo and 21 black rhino of the very scarce Kenyan sub-species.
South Africa's only ski resort, Tiffindell, which is situated near the hamlet of Rhodes in the Southern Drakensberg on the slopes of the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Cape (3001 m).
The National Arts Festival, held in Grahamstown is Africa's largest and most colourful cultural event, offering a choice of the very best of both indigenous and imported talent. Every year for 11 days the town's population almost doubles, as over 50,000 people flock to the region for a feast of arts, crafts and sheer entertainment. |
The Tsitsikamma National Park is an 80 km long coastal strip between Nature's Valley and the mouth of the Storms River.
In the park the visitor finds an almost untouched natural landscape. Near the park is the Bloukrans Bridge, which is the world's highest bungee jump.
Jeffreys Bay is an area with some of the country's wildest coastline, which is backed by some of Africa's most spectacular sub-tropical rainforest. Famous for its "supertubes", probably South Africa's longest and most consistently good wave, it's charged with a surf vibe as relaxed as it is friendly, and this tends to soften the effect of the wealthy set who have made this part of the coast their own.
Aliwal North, lying on a splendid agricultural plateau on the southern bank of the Orange River, is one of the country's most popular inland resorts and is famous for its hot springs. The rugged and unspoilt Wild Coast is a place of spectacular scenery, and a graveyard for many vessels.
Cape St. Francis is a town in South Africa, situated on a headland in the Eastern Cape Province. It is popular for its clean beaches and as a surfing location. The town is home to a Penguin Rescue and Rehabilitation Center as well as the Seal Point Lighthouse.The Irma Booysen Floral Reserve is the home to many species of flowers and plants. The adjacent resort, St Francis Bay, was the site of "ten-million-to-one" surfing waves seen in the surf/travel documentary, The Endless Summer. The village was only proclaimed in 1965.
Cape St Francis Light House, a National Monument, was built in 1878 at Seal Point.
Cape St Francis is surrounded by nature reserves and a pristine 5km beach comprising of Shark Point and Seal Point, which is the third most southerly point in South Africa. Cape St Francis is a popular a holiday resort, with a mini market, restaurants and pubs, a world class surf reef and point break. |
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CAPE ST FRANCIS (For Cape St Francis Accommodation go to Cape St Francis Accommodation ) |
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Cape St. Francis (Afrikaans: Kaap St Francis) is a village in South Africa, situated on a headland in the Eastern Cape Province.
It is popular for its clean beaches and as a surfing location. The village is home to a Penguin Rescue and Rehabilitation Center as well as the Seal Point Lighthouse.[2] The Irma Booysen Floral Reserve is the home to many species of flowers and plants. The adjacent village, St Francis Bay, was the site of "ten-million-to-one" surfing waves seen in the 1966 surf/travel documentary, The Endless Summer.
Cape St. Francis is now known as one of the best surfing locations. Given its geological location, it is susceptible to swell year round from large low pressure systems that form between Antarctica and the southern tip of Africa. When large south west swell wrap around the coastline of the region and the prevailing offshore winds come up, the surfing is as good as it gets.
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JEFFREYS BAY (For Jeffreys Bay Accommodation go to Jeffreys Bay Accommodation ) |
Jeffreys Bay is a town located in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is situated just off the N2 Highway, about an hour's drive southwest of Port Elizabeth.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jeffreys Bay was known as a hippie hangout, where the now-burgeoning surf community originated.
Jeffreys Bay has grown from a sleepy little fishing town over the past few years and is one of the fastest expanding urban areas in the country
Jeffreys Bay is one of the five most famous surfing destinations in the world and hosts the annual Billabong Pro ASP World Tour surfing event at Supertubes during July.
Jeffreys Bay is a popular tourist destination because of its surfing opportunities and the blue flag beach. [6] It is the home of the annual Billabong Pro surfing competition. This international event attracts professional surfers from all over the world, and many tourists as well. Jeffreys Bay is famous for abundant seashells and calamari. |
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PORT ELIZABETH (For Port Elizabeth Accommodation go to Port Elizabeth Accommodation ) |
Port Elizabeth ,known as Nelson Mandela Bay, is a city in South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province, 770km east of Cape Town. The city, often shortened to PE and nicknamed "The Friendly City" or "The Windy City", stretches for 16km along Algoa Bay, and is one of the major seaports in South Africa.
Port Elizabeth was founded as a town in 1820 to house British settlers as a way of strengthening the border region between the Cape Colony and the warlike Xhosa tribe. It now forms part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of over 1 million.
Located at the end of the picturesque Garden Route along the Cape coast, the city is one of South Africa's major destinations for tourists, many of whom come simply to enjoy the many fine beaches in and near the city.
The area surrounding the CBD has a number of historic attractions. See : Places to See
The wider area surrounding PE also features a number of game viewing opportunities, including the famous Addo Elephant Park. Port Elizabeth is known commonly as the watersports capital of South Africa and boasts an ever increasing number of watersports events annually. Algoa bay is home to scuba diving, game fishing charters, surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding to name but a few. There are many cruises offered from the harbour from sunset cruises to view dolphins to whale watching tours. |
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GRAHAMSTOWN (For Grahamstown Accommodation go to Grahamstown Accommodation ) |
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province . Located some 130 km from Port Elizabeth and 180 km from East London, Grahamstown is also the seat of Rhodes University.
Grahamstown was founded in 1812 as a military outpost by Lieutenant-Colonel John Graham as part of the effort to secure the eastern frontier of British influence in the then Cape Colony against the Xhosa.
Battle of Grahamstown - On 22 April 1819 a large number of Xhosa warriors, under the leadership of Nxele, launched an attack against the British Colonial forces. The Xhosas warned Colonel Willshire, the commanding officer, beforehand of their planned attack on Grahamstown, brought about by the continued harassment of Xhosas within their own territory by the British authorities.
The Xhosas came close to taking the town, but were repulsed by the heavy artillery and gunfire of the British, suffering heavy losses. Nxele surrendered, was taken captive and imprisoned on Robben Island where he later died.
The Observatory Museum - see Places to See
Festivals - Two large festivals take place annually in Grahamstown: the National Arts Festival in June/July and SciFest Africa in the first term of the year The National Arts Festival is the largest Arts festival in Africa and sees some of the leading talent on the South African and international art scene arriving in Grahamstown for a celebration of culture and artistic expression. |
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EAST LONDON (For Cape St Francis Accommodation go to East London Accommodation ) |
East London is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa, situated in the Eastern Cape Province. The city is situated on the Indian Ocean coast, between the Buffalo River, and the Nahoon River, and is the country's only river port.
East London today has a population of 250,000, with over 700,000 in the metropolitan area.
East London settlers memorialThe city formed around the only river port in South Africa, and was originally known as Port Rex. This settlement on the West Bank was the nucleus of the town of East London, which was later elevated to city status in 1914.
East London's tourism industry has grown greatly over the past few years. The City is being marketed as Buffalo City though, causing many to be confused. Apart from this obstacle local businesses are thriving, with a great deal of investment in the area, drawing visitors from around the world. East London is relatively small so there are only a few hotels, making a perfect gap in the market for bed & breakfasts to offer accommodation. |
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PORT ALFRED (For Port Alfred Accommodation go to Port Alfred Accommodation )
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Port Alfred is a small town with a population of 19,307 in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
It is situated on the eastern seaboard of the country at the mouth of the Kowie River, almost exactly half-way between the larger cities of Port Elizabeth and East London and 30km West of Cannon Rocks.
One of its most distinctive features is a beautiful marina with a number of luxurious houses facing on to the canals. The city enjoys a mild climate and award winning beaches, Kelly's beach has Blue Flag beach status, meaning it is one of the top beaches in South Africa. It is growing rapidly due to a high number of retirees and holiday makers building houses there.
Port Alfred is home to Southern Africa largest air school - 43 Airschool.
Port Alfred has many activities for visitors including fishing, Scuba diving diving, canoeing, waterskiing and tubing. Other sporting activities include golf, hiking, horse trails and surfing. |
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