East London
From World travel guide
East London (now also referred to as Buffalo City) is a City in the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
Contents |
Understand
East London is located at the mouth of the Buffalo River. Following the recent renaming of a number of cities in South Africa, it is now called Buffalo City in official papers. However it is most times called East London, especially by white South Africans.
Get in
By car
East London can easily reached by car. It is situated at the N2 highway from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth to Durban and the N6 to Bloemfontein (and from there to Kimberley or Johannesburg) starts here.
If you are coming or going to/from Port Elizabeth you should consider taking the scenic R72 "Romantic Coast Road", which takes a bit longer, but offers some spectacular views and some nice little coast towns.
Distances
- East London-Umtata: 235km
- East London-Durban: 676km
- East London-Cape Town: 1100km
- East London-Johannesburg: 990km
By plane
South African Airways flies from East London to Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, ae well as to some smaller cities in the country. Local low-fare airlines 1Time and Kulula.com serve the airport as well. See also Discount airlines in Africa
By train
Daily connections to Johannesburg are available. There are also a number of trains a week to Port Elizabeth.
By bus
Translux and Greyhound operate regular bus services to all bigger South African cities.
Get around
Best by car.
See & Do
- Go to the beaches outside East London, like "Fully Beach" or "Gonubie Mouth".
- Take a drive along the Buffalo River (circa 30km from the harbour).
- The East London city centre is quite small and calm.
- The German Market takes place every Friday and Saturday in the Buffalo Street.
- The Wool Exchange, located at the corner Church Street/Cambridge Street is one of the biggest in Africa, with bidders from all over the world. It takes palce every Tuesday between September and May from 8h30. Visitors are welcome.
- The Wild Coast Meander is a 55km / 5 day hiking trail that follows the coast line. Locals will carry your bag for you for a small fee and you stay in small, charming hotels each night.
- Visit the museum. It houses the first Coelacanth that was caught. It is described as a living fossil and the zoological find of the last century.
Buy
Eat & Drink
Sleep
The Thatch is a very good guesthouses, overlooking the Indian Ocean. It is not far from the town and beautifully situated. It is four star graded, but rates are quite low.
Get out
- Go west to Port Elizabeth and the Garden Route
- The Wild Coast is a rough and spectacular coast line in the east
- Go north to Bloemfontein, inside the Karoo.
External links
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