It’s justifiably called the Windy City or the Friendly City or plain old PE for short but, whatever you call it; Port Elizabeth is a gem of a holiday destination. Despite its reputation as East London’s less attractive sibling, PE is a holiday-maker’s paradise, from sunny beaches and game parks to oceanariums and museums of cultural and historic significance.
Bayworld Complex is a mish-mash of natural and historical attractions. Comprised of the Port Elizabeth Museum, an oceanarium and a snake park, Bayworld is a great family-friendly destination.
The museum contains a number of noteworthy exhibits, such as the Dinosaur Hall, which traces the development of life starting 300 million years ago. Displays include rocks, fossils and life-size models of prehistoric creatures like the Algoasaurus, a local dinosaur. In the Marine Hall, the skeleton of a southern right whale is suspended from the ceiling while a shark display tries to dispel the myths surrounding these much maligned creatures. Curiosity Corner displays everything from medieval armour and unusual musical instruments to human and animal anatomical models. There are also the Maritime History and Costume Halls, as well as the Xhosa Gallery and the First People of the Bay Exhibit.
The oceanarium features a small colony of Cape fur and Sub-Antarctic seals; African and rock-hopper penguins; ragged tooth, leopard and tiger cat sharks and a selection of other marine creatures, including a rather large octopus and sea turtles.
The snake park includes snakes, geckos, lizards, juvenile crocodiles, tortoises and terrapins.
Seaview game and lion park is a self-drive park approximately 25km west of PE with an abundance of the big game wild life for which South Africa is famous, including giraffe, zebra, crocodiles, rock monitors, monkeys, leopards and, of course, lions.
Certain of the larger, more dangerous animals, such as the crocodiles, lions and tigers are kept in camps and enclosures. An elevated walkway allows guests to roam around the camps and view the animals. The lion park is famous for its white lions, which are all born and hand-reared in the park. On Sundays guests have the opportunity to watch the lions being fed.
Red Location represents PE’s struggle history. Located within a township, the site is now a hands-on museum devoted to the fight against apartheid. Red Location gained notoriety for a number of firsts: the first wing of the ANC’s military force, umKonto we Size, was established at Red Location and it was also the site of the first arrest after the passive resistance campaign against pass laws was initiated.
It’s considered hands-on because visitors are treated as active participants. Instead of representing history in the traditional linear manner, the museum makes use of memory boxes, taken from the boxes used by migrant workers to hold all their most valuable possession from home.
Exhibitions are contained within 12 large, unmarked and rusted boxes and there is no correct order in which to view them. Some exhibitions are permanent, others semi-permanent and yet others only temporary, so each visit is unique.
Addo Elephant Park is the third largest game park in South Africa and the only one that offers the Big 7 – elephant, black rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, great white shark and sperm whale – in their natural habitat. It also contains five of the country’s seven major vegetation zones and a number of archaeological and historical sites.
The park was first established to save elephants from extinction and was so successful in its mission that between 350 and 450 elephants now roam within its borders. It’s also home to warthogs, eland, kudu and a rare, flightless dung beetle found only in the Addo area.
Only an hour’s drive from PE, the park makes for an ideal day trip but it also has several accommodation facilities including two rest camps and four private lodges. Activities include guided game drives, guided walking tours, hiking, horse riding, 4×4 trails and bird watching.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
