East London Travel Information:
East
London, located 33.01.26 degrees south and 27.54.50
degrees east, is one of South Africa's richest and most
diverse and most diverse eco-tourism destinations on offer.
It serves as a gateway to three of the Eastern Cape' tourist
destinations. The Sunshine Coast and Country to the west
of East London, the Wild Coast to the east of East London
and Amatola Mountain Escape, towards the interior. Along
these routes are destinations of exceptional beauty including
open, sandy beaches, daring coastal cliffs, fertile valleys,
river and estuary lagoons and indigenous forests, the
ultimate outdoor and wilderness destination!
Situated in a geological and climatically transitional
zone, the Eastern Cape's vegetation boasts five biomes
(floristic regions). It ranges from mobile sand dune ecosystem
along the coast, to subtropical thicket along the inland
river valleys. Adapted to fluctuation in climate and other
disturbances (grazing animals), the Eastern Cape vegetation
is renowned for its tenacity. Once such plant, the pelargonium
or geranium, has been identifies as the world's most popular
garden plant and has its origin in this region. An interesting
endemic species include the Umtiza tree, found in the
Umtiza Nature Reserve in Buffalo Pass, not far from East
London City. Scattered throughout the region, found in
urban gardens and planted in the city centre for beautification,
are large collections of pre-historic cycad species. Queen's
Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens, covering 30 hectares,
is within the city's metropolitan area and houses a vast
collection of indigenous trees: erythrina, milkwood, wild
olive, spekboom, boer boon, yellowwood, sweet thorn, tree
euphrobia, cabbage tree, coral aloe and cycads. Not far
from King William's Town, Maden Dam marks the start of
the Amatola Hiking Trail, a challenging six day hike through
the indigenous forest of the Amatola Mountain.
More farmers have turned to game farming as a form of
income, which led to the re-introduction of formerly indigenous
species to the area and a bloom of game parks and reserves.
Today visitors can view these species (eland, leopard,
blue duiker, elephant, lion, hippo), and newly introduced
ones (buffalo, kudu, letchwe) in the Inkwenkwezi Private
Game Reserve only 30km from East London. The elephant
is the last of the Big Five to be introduced into the
park and is expected to arrive by September 2002. besides
game viewing there are accommodation facilities, dining
options and a variety of activities (hiking and horse
trails) available to the visitor.
The game hunting industry has become an important component
of tourism in the Eastern Cape and numerous farms in the
region provide excellent and can accommodate international
trophy hunters. An added incentive for choosing this region
for game experiences is the malaria-free status.
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