The 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship is around the corner and tens of thousands of top international triathletes and their families are about to flock into Port Elizabeth for a week. Most will never have visited our beautiful city and will have no idea of what to do while they are here. And there is just so much choice – Nelson Mandela Bay is a traveller’s smorgasbord of memorable experiences just waiting to be tasted.
Whatever direction you decide to head, there is something to see and do, and there is so much variety – beaches, forests and mountains for nature lovers, vibey hangouts for city slickers, waves, wind and bumpy tracks for sporty types and history and creativity everywhere for the arty folk. Whether it involves beachcombing, hiking, surfing, eating, culturing, adventuring, chilling or socialising, our lovely little coastal city has it all.
All this choice can be a little overwhelming, so to help make your travel planning a breeze – for the Iron-men, Iron-women and their families and friends, and for everyone travelling to Port Elizabeth for the first time – here is our guide to Nelson Mandela Bay’s Top 5 must-see tourist attractions.
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One of my favourite childhood books was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Besides the deliciously fantastic storyline, the ending always fascinated me – when Willie Wonka took Charlie into his glass elevator and headed upward into the unknown.
This is exactly how I felt when we entered Graskop’s brand new glass elevator. The shiny modern structure clinging to the vertical side of a naturally stunning deep gorge is a sight to behold. Instead of up, it transported us deep down into the unknown caverns of the enormous gorge, below the canopy of tall trees and into a hidden world entirely magical and full of sweet and surreal surprises.
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We are led silently in single file down a dark corridor and ushered into a small office. The door clicks shut behind us, locking our family into the room. We stand in a quiet huddle, staring at the ominous chalk outline in the shape of a fallen human body on the middle of the floor. My heart is pounding and my first instinct is to pat my pocket for my phone, but it’s not there – they took everything from us before locking us in.
We look around – besides the body outline, it looks like a normal office. Suddenly, a raspy voice crackles over a loud speaker telling us about the murder that happened here. He explains that our only chance of escape is to solve the heinous crime in under one hour. There is a large blank TV screen on the wall that suddenly flashes with a white number 60:00….59.59…..59.58…..the countdown has started!
Where do we even begin?
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There is something to be said about sleeping in a bed that is so large you can’t reach both sides at once no matter how far you stretch. And when you plop back into a soft couch, surrounded by tastefully classy furnishings and breath-taking artworks, wearing a puffy white dressing gown while watching wild animals drink from a water hole outside your huge patio.
Add to that world class game viewing with a friendly, knowledgeable safari guide, sundowners with a spectacular African sunset as a backdrop and a spread of the finest cuisine served by friendly and attentive staff hell bent on making sure you have the time of your life.
This is what attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe to visit our malaria-free Eastern Cape game reserves and we were delighted to visit Founders Lodge to discover for ourselves where and how it all began.
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When I turned 21, my parents gave me the most beautiful silver heart locket. This gorgeous little symbol of love has embraced my neck through most of my life. It has witnessed much adventure and travelled to many places, a constant reminder of my love for my family and my heritage.
I lost my heart to Trennerys – somewhere between the pitch black Wild Coast sea sand dotted with paintbox cows, the rolling green Transkei hills, the mirror glass water of the Qolora lagoon, the ruggedly spectacular beach, the enchanting wooden deck winding between the dune forest and our charming little luxury thatched rondawel.
I only realised my heart was missing when its silver chain slithered to the floor with no locket on in our hotel room as we arrived back from a full day of adventure. Although by no means would I have chosen to leave my heart behind, I actually could not imagine a better resting place for my special little totem.
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