Eastern Cape Heartland - 400km

EAST LONDON

...developed around the port established in 1847 as a landing place for British troops and supplies destined for the eastern Cape frontier. Situated at the mouth of the Buffalo River, the settlement was first named Port Rex but was renamed East London in 1848. The city is famed for its long stretches of beach which attract numerous sunbathers, anglers and surfers. Eastern, Orient and Nahoon beaches are popular with sunbathers; Bonza Bay and Nahoon offer ideal conditions for boardsailing while Nahoon Reef is an internationally noted surfing destination.

Among the city’s historical links with the turbulent period of the Frontier Wars is the old powder magazine on the site of Fort Glamorgan, built in 1849 against a hill on the western bank of the Buffalo River. Gately House, built in 1878, is an excellent example of a period townhouse. It contains a fine collection of Victorian furnishings and serves as the city’s Town House Museum. The Ann Bryant Art Gallery has a valuable collection of works by English and South African artists.

Among the other historic buildings are the City Hall (1899), Public Library (1906) and Cuthberts Building. The East London Museum focuses on the natural and cultural history of the Border area. Among its displays are a gallery devoted to the coelacanth, comprehensive collections of South African fish and seashells and ethnographic collections focusing on the Xhosa-speaking people. East London’s Steve Biko Memorial commemorates the death of the father of the Black Consciousness Movement, who died in police custody from injuries he sustained during interrogation in Port Elizabeth in 1977.

Siyabona Africa Travel recommends Eastern Cape Hotels

GONUBIE

Set against a backdrop of forested dunes, the coastal town of Gonubie lies alongside a tranquil lagoon at the mouth of the Gqunube River. The river – navigable for 5 km upstream – coastline and open ocean offer excellent angling possibilities. Visitors can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, surfing and a walk on the boardwalk, while several sporting facilities are available in the town. The name is said to be Khoikhoi in origin, meaning ‘bramble river’.

KWELERA

This holiday towns owes its name to the Kwelera River, a corruption of the Khoikhoi name Goerecha, meaning ‘many aloes’. The rocky beach here is a long-standing favourite with anglers.

HAGA-HAGA

...is a beautiful seaside village flanked by sandy beaches at the foot of green hills. The lagoon and beach offer safe swimming, while the rocks extending along the seafront present good angling opportunities.

KOMGA

Lying amid rolling green grasslands, Komga was established as an agricultural centre in 1877 on the site of a military camp established 23 years earlier. The Khoikhoi name is said to mean ‘lots of clay’, or ‘clayish’. A monument in the town recalls the epic 1842 journey of Dick King, who covered the 960-km distance between Port Natal (now Durban) and Grahamstown on horseback in ten days.

VICTORIA CROSS MEMORIAL

About 20 km west of Komga, a stone monument honours Major Hans Garett Moore, the first recipient of the Victoria Cross in South Africa. During the Battle of Draaibosch, fought here on 29 and 30 December 1877, Moore and three others went to the assistance of a comrade named Giese who had been overtaken by the Xhosa. Their heroic attempt failed to save Giese, and Moore was stabbed in the forearm. The following day, a patrol led by Moore was attacked by a Xhosa force of 1 000 warriors on foot and 600 mounted men. Moore and his men held off the attackers, who eventually fled.

BISHO

...a Xhosa name meaning ‘buffalo’, lies to the east of King William’s Town. It was built by the South African government as the capital of the Ciskei homeland after the apartheid government refused to incorporate King William’s Town into the Ciskei, which became ‘independent’ in 1982. Following the reintegration of Ciskei into South Africa in 1994, Bisho became the capital of the Eastern Cape province.

Among the sites relating to the struggle against apartheid is the grave of Steve Biko, who was born in Ginsberg township on the outskirts of King William’s Town. Also of interest is the site of the Bisho Massacre, where 28 people were killed and 200 injured when Ciskei soldiers opened fire on thousands of ANC marchers on 7 September 1992.

KING WILLIAM’S TOWN

...has its origins in the Buffalo Mission Station established on the east bank of the Buffalo River by the Reverend John Brownlee of the London Missionary Society in 1825. Following the Sixth Frontier War (1834–35), the British Governor, Sir Benjamin D’Urban, annexed the land between the Keiskamma and the Kei rivers, naming it the Province of Queen Adelaide. A fort was built near the ruins of the mission station (destroyed during the war) and on 24 May 1835 the site was proclaimed the capital of the new province. It was named after the reigning monarch, William IV.