Discover the Charm of Port Elizabeth, South Africa's Hidden Gem

Gqeberha, the coastal city most South Africans still affectionately call Port Elizabeth, offers one of the warmest welcomes you will find along the country's southeastern shore. Known for generations as the "Friendly City", and, thanks to the breeze rolling off the sea, the "Windy City", it sits on the wide sweep of Algoa Bay in the Eastern Cape, where long beaches, big wildlife and a layered history all come together in one place.

Beaches on Algoa Bay

The city's shoreline is its pride. Kings Beach and Hobie Beach front the bay with gentle, swimmable water, soft sand and a promenade that fills up on warm afternoons. The conditions suit just about everyone, from families paddling in the shallows to surfers and windsurfers chasing the swell. If the sea is what draws you south, it is worth exploring more of South Africa's beaches while you are in the region.

Wildlife on land and at sea

A short drive inland brings you to Addo Elephant National Park, one of the best places in the country to see the Big Five. Once a last refuge for a handful of surviving elephants, Addo now protects vast herds alongside lion, buffalo, leopard and rhino.^[4] The wildlife does not stop at the water's edge either. The islands of Algoa Bay, among them St Croix and Bird Island, shelter some of the world's largest colonies of African penguins and Cape gannets, and the bay itself is a celebrated spot for whale and dolphin watching.^[7]

History and heritage

The town was laid out in 1820, when several thousand British settlers arrived to farm the frontier, and it took its name from Elizabeth Donkin, the late wife of the acting Cape governor Sir Rufane Donkin.^[3] Her memorial, a stone pyramid beside the old lighthouse on the Donkin Reserve, still looks out over the city. The Donkin Heritage Trail links these early landmarks, among them Fort Frederick of 1799, the oldest British stone fortification in the country. More recent history runs along Route 67, a walk of 67 public artworks marking each year of Nelson Mandela's public life,^[6] while the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in leafy St George's Park holds one of the region's finest collections of South African art.^[5]

Food and nightlife

After a day on the sand or in the bush, the city has plenty to keep you out late. Its restaurants and bars serve everything from fresh Algoa Bay seafood to hearty local cooking, and both the waterfront and the city centre come alive after dark. It makes a relaxed, good-natured counterpoint to a busier stop like Cape Town or Durban.

From Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha

In 2019 the Eastern Cape Provincial Geographical Names Committee recommended that Port Elizabeth be renamed Gqeberha, after the Xhosa and Khoekhoe name for the Baakens River that winds through the city.^[2] The change was approved by the South African Geographical Names Council and published in the government gazette on 23 February 2021.^[1] Today Gqeberha is the city's official name, used by government, road signs, news and sport, though many residents and visitors still move comfortably between the new name, "Port Elizabeth" and the everyday shorthand "PE".

Whatever you choose to call it, this corner of Algoa Bay rewards a visit. Its beaches, its elephants and penguins, its old forts and modern memorials, and its easy, friendly pace make Gqeberha one of the most likeable cities on the South African coast.

Sources

1. TimesLive, "It is official, Port Elizabeth has a new name, Gqeberha" (23 February 2021)
2. South African History Online, "Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth / Nelson Mandela Bay)"
3. Wikipedia, "Gqeberha"
4. Wikipedia, "Addo Elephant National Park"
5. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum (official site)
6. Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, "Route 67"
7. Wikipedia, "Algoa Bay"