East London

East London is a city in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Understand
East London is on the east coast of South Africa. It is the main city in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, which includes East London, Bhisho and King William's Town. East London is home to Mdantsane township, once considered to be the second largest township in the country. It has an airport, a deep water port, and a railway link to the national rail network. It is widely held that this area was where the African buffalo was first spotted in the country, hence the name Buffalo City. The name "East London" is an old colonial name, and there is an ongoing debate about finding a suitable name change for the city.

East London has an estimated population of 810,000. It includes extensive tracts of land suitable for grazing and horticulture and is one of the major tomato-growing areas in the country because of its good climate throughout the year. Known for its beautiful beaches, it also boasts great game reserves where the Big Five can be found, including a lion park close to the city. In the sporting world, East London is also known as a boxing hub due to the number of world champion boxers it has produced and continues to produce.

In 1938 the then-curator of the town museum found an unusual fish in the catch of a local fishing vessel. The fish turned out to be a prehistoric coelacanth, long thought to be extinct.

By car
East London can easily be reached by car. The N2 highway connects East London to Port Elizabeth and Durban ; the N6 goes to Bloemfontein.

If you are coming from or going to Port Elizabeth you should consider taking the scenic R72 "Romantic Coast Road", which takes a bit longer, but offers spectacular views and some nice little coastal towns (such as Port Alfred).

Distances

 * East London-Mthatha (Umtata) : 235 km
 * East London-Durban : 676 km
 * East London-Cape Town : 1100 km
 * East London-Johannesburg : 982 km
 * East London-Kimberley: 720 km

By train
Shosholoza Meyl operates regular inter-city trains from Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. You can also get to Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg and Durban (by changing trains in Bloemfontein) and Port Elizabeth (by changing trains in Noupoort or Colesburg). The fare from Johannesburg to East London is R540 in Sleeper class.

MetroRail operates commuter trains to some outlying suburbs of East London, with a reduced service over weekends.



By bus
Translux and Greyhound operate regular bus services to all bigger South African cities. on the corner of Buffalo and College streets are Minibus taxis going to port Elizabeth for R100. 6 hours. Eldo Coaches have buses to Johannesburg for R300.

Get around
East London lacks a public transport system, so getting around is difficult if you don't have a car. There are many car rental companies available, 3 of which have branches at the airport.

Taxis are the best way of getting around East London and the suburbs of the city. They can be pre-booked and are quite cost-effective. A journey from the seafront (Sugarshack hostel) to the Hemingways Mall should only cost around R70 each way (2011 prices). From the Sugarshack to the downtown Shoprite costs R7.

To get from the Airport to any address in East London, the "Little Red Bus" offers a safe, reliable and good value link. They can be pre-booked by phone or email and will wait at the airport with your name on a sign. There may be other people sharing the bus with you, but the fee is per passenger. The bus will leave when all of the booked passengers have been picked up, so there is no worry about over filling the bus. The return journey to the airport or any other journeys in and around East London can be arranged as well.

See

 * East Londoners are fortunate enough to have access to an amazing coast line with white sand beaches and excellent surfing spots like Nahoon Reef. "Vaalies" (as visitors from Gauteng, formerly Transvaal, are called) flock down to East London for sun, sea and sand over the Christmas/New Year and Easter periods.
 * The East London Harbour is the only natural deep-water port South Africa has. There are restaurants along the waterfront, like the Ballyhoo Bistro, where you can enjoy a very affordable meal with a view of the harbour and the moored yachts right before you. The Ballyhoo offers river cruises and caters for parties and general events.

Game Parks

 * Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve, +27 43 734 3234, email: pdr@inkwenkwezi.co.za, website: www.inkwenkwezi.com. It has the all of the Big Five game animals for a reasonable price.

Restaurants and cafes
The Guidos beach front should be visited while here, not forgetting the Milkshake Shop and the locally legendary Windmill.



Coffee Stops

Drink

 * The Buccaneers
 * Mans Tavern
 * Champions,Vincent
 * Corner Pocket
 * Bernies,Vincent
 * Que Bar

Go next

 * Go west to Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route driving through Port Alfred.
 * The Wild Coast is a rough and spectacular coast line to the east
 * Go north to Bloemfontein, inside the Karoo Heartland.
 * Heading in the direction of Cape Town, you will travel along Settlers Way through the semi-industrial area of the West Bank. Settlers Way becomes the R72 again as you pass the airport through the traffic lights.
 * If leaving toward Durban, the Wild Coast of the Transkei lies before you. The Kei Bridge marks the entry into what used to be the Transkei.
 * Stutterheim is the first small town one encounters following the N6 toward Bloemfontein. Take the North-East Expressway from Fleet Street or Pearce Street off-ramp.