Archive - October 2026

CAPE ST. FRANCIS

Our last lovely stop of the day was Seal Point Lighthouse, situated in Cape St. Francis, approximately a 90-minute drive from Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). Overlooking the rugged Eastern Cape coastline, this historic lighthouse remains an active aid to maritime navigation. Today...

JEFFREYS BAY

Our next destination was Jeffreys Bay, affectionately known as J-Bay, a world-renowned coastal town in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, approximately 75 km southwest of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Situated near the western gateway to the Garden Route, J-Bay is surrounded by beautiful coastal...

VW PAVILION

We drove about 45 minutes from Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) to the Volkswagen AutoPavilion, an ultra-modern heritage centre and automotive museum at the main entrance to Volkswagen Group Africa’s manufacturing plant in Kariega, formerly Uitenhage. Opened in March 2004, the AutoPavilion...

ST CROIX MOTOR MUSEUM

One highlight of our stay in Gqeberha was visiting the St Croix Motor Museum and meeting its passionate owner and curator, Eben de Vos, a true petrolhead who has devoted decades to collecting, preserving, and celebrating South Africa’s automotive heritage. His collection also honours Port...

SOUTH AFRICAN AIRFORCE II.

This was our second visit to the South African Air Force Museum, this time to its Gqeberha branch on the southern side of Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (formerly Port Elizabeth Airport). A dedicated team of volunteers and the Friends of the SAAF Museum, under the curatorship...

PORT ELIZABETH

We spent two nights in Gqeberha, officially renamed from Port Elizabeth in 2021, a major coastal city in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Known as the “Friendly City” and sometimes the “Windy City”, it combines attractive seaside suburbs, major...

ADDO ELEPHANT NP

Addo Elephant National Park is South Africa’s third-largest national park, about an hour’s drive northeast of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape. It is famous as the only conservation area in the world that protects the “Big 7″—the traditional...

ALEXANDRIA

After our unpleasant encounter with traffic officers who seemed more interested in money than anything else, we were no longer in the mood for sightseeing. Nevertheless, we hit the road and continued from Port Alfred to Addo Elephant National Park, with an overnight stop near Kenton-on...

PORT ALFRED

We spent a night in Port Alfred, a scenic coastal town on South Africa’s Eastern Cape Sunshine Coast. At the mouth of the Kowie River, roughly halfway between Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and East London, it is known for its relaxed seaside atmosphere and sandy beaches. The...

BATHURST

We made a short detour to Bathurst, a historic village in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, located a short distance inland from Port Alfred near the Kowie River. This charming rural settlement is closely associated with the arrival of British settlers in 1820 and retains a distinctive...