DESTINATIONS

ADDO ELEPHANT NATIONAL PARK

Situated in a malaria free area just one hour’s drive form Port Elizabeth, the 743km2 park is sanctuary to 170 Elephants, 400 Cape Buffalo and 21 Black Rhino, as well as a variety of Antelope species and a unique flightless dung beetle found almost exclusively in Addo.

The Addo conserves five of South Africa’s seven biomes and is home to one of the densest African elephant populations on earth and offers some of the most spectacular Elephant viewing in the world. In addition to this the park boasts the Rhino, Lion, Buffalo, Leopard, Southern Right Whale and the Great White Shark resulting in the Big 7!

Antelope species that are abundant in the main game area of the park include the Red Hartebeest, Eland, Kudu and Bushbuck whilst in the Nama- Karoo area Gemsbok, Black Wildebeest, Springbok, Buffalo and Black Rhino roam.

BLOUKRANS BUNGEE

Situated along the Garden Route at the Tsitsikamma Forest Village just 40km east of Plettenberg Bay, you will find the highest single span concrete arch bridge in the world. This is the highest commercially operated Bungy jump bridge in the world. You are secured in a full body harness and are taken along a specially designed catwalk which is suspended beneath the road surface, which will lead you to the top of the arch- 216 meters above the Bloukrans River. Here you will be given final instructions by highly experienced staff, given a countdown and off you go!

EASTERN CAPE BEACHES

If you are a sun seeker and you want to relax on the beach, cool off in the Eastern Cape’s Indian Ocean. Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Capes largest City, has some fabulous beaches of which Kings Beach is the most popular. Further east you will find the Sunshine Coast with numerous smaller towns that also sit on the Indian Ocean. You will find some stunning beaches here and you could be the only one on the whole beach!

CAPE ST FRANCIS

Cape St Francis lighthouse was commissioned on 4 July 1878. The 28 metre circular tower supports a lantern house and 2nd order revolving lantern consisting of 8 catadioptric lens panels. The lighthouse was declared a National Monument in 1984. It is located within the eastern sector of the cape floristic region, a floral kingdom internationally recognised for its spectacular diversity. The vegetation supports a diversity of bird, rodent and other small animal populations.

Seal Point is also well known in the surfing community. There are some very good waves and the angle of the coastline makes an ideal spot for surfing photography.

THE TSITSIKAMMA NATIONAL PARK

The Tsitsikamma Natioanal Park is an 80km long coastal strip between Natures Valley and the mouth of the Storms River. Here you will find almost untouched natural landscapes.

Tsitsikamma is a Khoisan word meaning, “place of much water.” The Tsitsikamma’s spectacular scenery includes the Indian Ocean breakers, pounding rocky shores beneath 180 m high cliffs, ever-green forests and fynbos rolling down to the sea in a lush carpet where ancient rivers have carved their path to the ocean through rocky ravines.

Tsitsikamma National Park protects a wonderland of inter-tidal and marine life. This is one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world, conserving 11 percent of South Africa’s Temperate South Coast rocky shoreline. The park incorporates various cultural heritage sites ranging from Khoisan cultural heritage sites such as caves, shell middens and rock art to more recent cultural historic sites such as the ruins of small fishing settlements, remnants of the past forestry industries and grave sites.

GRAHAMSTOWN NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

Held in Grahamstown in 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.

HIKING

There are fantastic walks all over the Eastern Cape. These walks range from daily walks to 5-6 day walks. The best knows walks, namely the Otter Trail, Harkerville and Tsitsikamma are all based around the Garden Route in the Western Coastal area, but there are some astonishingly beautiful walks in the Northern Interior as well. Some believe this is where JRR Tolkien got some of his inspiration for Lord of the rings!

KARIEGA GAME RESERVE

This family owned and operated, private game reserve spans nearly 9,000 hectares of pristine African wilderness incorporating the picturesque Kariega and Bushman's Rivers. Kariega game lodge offers a unique combination of awesome Big-5 game viewing with an expansive variety of fauna, flora and birdlife in a landscape that incorporates 5 different eco-systems, displaying the most dramatic views and vistas. The experience is very powerful and authentically African.

The game lodges offer luxury accommodation combined with first class African lion safaris. Only 80 minutes east of Port Elizabeth, a visit to Kariega Game Reserve should be considered a natural extension of your trip along South Africa's famous 'Garden Route', between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

THE NELSON MANDELA ROUTE

Tourists fascinated by South Africa's most beloved statesman, Nelson Mandela, can now "follow his footsteps" all the way from the Eastern Cape to Robben Island

The Nelson Mandela Route starts in the Eastern Cape, in King William's Town, which began as a London-based Missionary Station in 1826 and provides a backdrop to early European influences in a struggle region of British, Boer and Xhosa conflicts.

The town's Amathole Museum has a Xhosa Gallery, Missionary Museum and German Settlers display. The grave of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko is also in the town.

The Mandela Route moves through Bhisho, home of the provincial government, and takes a scenic drive on the N2 to Mthatha, which hosts the Nelson Mandela Museum.

The museum is a collection of heritage sectors spread across three locations: Qunu, Mveso and Mthatha. A display reflecting the life and times of Mandela can be found at the Bhunga Building section of the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha.

Mandela has received thousands of gifts from presidents, groups and ordinary people. Accepted on behalf of the people of South Africa, they are in safe-keeping at the museum for the benefit and appreciation of the nation. Artefacts ranging from children's letters to bejewelled camel covers say more about the donors than their famous recipient.

Scenes from Mandela's childhood
The second sector of the museum is the Community Museum and Youth & Heritage Centre in the village of Qunu, where Mandela spent his childhood.

Here, tourists can view the remains of young Nelson's primary school, the rock he used to slide down with friends, and the graveyard where his son, daughter and parents are buried – all set in the rolling hills of Pondoland, where Mandela grazed his family's cattle.

Alongside the N2 is Mandela's current home, where he entertains a steady stream of people from the neighbouring village and holds an annual party for children on his birthday. A tunnel running under the N2 allows visitors to "cross" the road in safety.

A thatched open-air museum at Mvezo - the third sector of the Nelson Mandela Museum - shelters a photographic exhibition depicting significant moments in Mandela's life. Nearby are the remains of the homestead where Mandela was born and raised.

Free guided tours of all three sectors of the Nelson Mandela Museum can be arranged via the museum in Mthatha.

The Mandela Route then moves back to East London, which has a museum housing a superb collection of southern Nguni beadwork.
Staying on the trail of the man himself, one has to leave the Eastern Cape, as he did.

Mandela in Johannesburg
The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg is a state-of-the-art tribute to the rise and fall of apartheid. Twenty-two exhibition areas take the visitor on an emotional journey through a state-sanctioned system based on racial discrimination.

It was put together on a seven-hectare site by a team of curators, film-makers, historians, designers and architects. Film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts depict the epic saga of apartheid.

Mandela's humble house in Orlando West, Soweto has been turned into the Mandela Family Museum. It houses an assortment of memorabilia, paintings, photographs and collection of honorary doctorates bestowed on Mandela from universities around the world.
This matchbox home at 8115 Ngakane Street was the abode that Mandela shared with his first wife, Evelyn Ntoko Mase. She moved out after their divorce in 1957, and when Winnie Madikizela married Mandela in 1958, she then moved into this Soweto home.

Mandela seldom stayed here as he was living life on the run as the "black pimpernel". Nearby is the Hector Pieterson Memorial to the schoolboy shot during the June 16 riots of 1976, as well as the home of Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu.

Mandela's larger-than-life character and famous "Madiba jive" are also captured in an outsize 6 metre statue at the upmarket shopping destination Nelson Mandela Square (formerly Sandton Square) - a prime photo opportunity for tourists.

This famous builder of bridges between people has also had the largest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa named after him. It links the Johannesburg central business district of Newtown and the northern parts of the city.

Robben Island
Finally - or firstly? - to Robben Island, off the coastline of Cape Town.

The famous prison has incarcerated indigenous African leaders, Muslim leaders from the East Indies, Dutch and British settler soldiers and civilians, women and anti-apartheid activists, including South Africa's first democratic President, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

Today it is a museum which acts as a focal point for South African heritage. Ex-political prisoners act as tour guides in a place of exile and imprisonment which epitomises the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

WATER SPORTS

You will find motorised water sports like jet skiing and water skiing in many places in the Eastern Cape, St Francis Bay is a good place to start. Almost anywhere along the coast you can do non-motorised water sports. Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth is a favourite for wind surfers. Jeffrey’s Bay and St Francis Bay is world famous as a surfing mecca. Doing a canoe ride up the Bushman’s River is also very rewarding.