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Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is an exhilarating experience for visitors, from blue flag beaches such as Kings Beach to the rural tranquility of the Transkei. Despite the cosmopolitan feeling in some of the urban centres, there is always an element of the untamed, just below the surface … MORE \ Discover the Eastern Cape \ or to find a place to stay visit Eastern Cape Accommodation or Eastern Cape Hotels.

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

I ♥ Kleinemonde Because ...

I ♥ Kleinemonde

I ♥ Kleinemonde

Hi, I’m Marlene from House Purfikt in Kleinemonde.

Kleinemonde IS BEST KNOWN FOR its fant­astic white beach which stretches on forever. We also have two lagoons right next to one another … fant­astic for swim­ming, canoe rides, fish­ing etc.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN ON the beach on a bright sunny day, the dunes & blue sea looks incredible!

THE BEST PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Three Sisters rocks.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the biggest Pineapple in the world in Bathurst. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Thursday, 26 January 2012

Graaff Reinet's Obesa Nursery – Walk the Cacti Labyrinth

Obesa Cacti Nursery

Obesa Cacti Nursery

You either get it, or you don't. With the Obesa Cactus Nursery. Although describ­ing it as a 'nurs­ery' hardly does the exper­i­ence justice. For a visit here, if you allow it, is far more of an exper­i­ence than it is a simple trip to the nurs­ery to pick up a cac­tus or two for your win­dow sill.

First of all the 'nurs­ery' takes up the bet­ter part of a block. For those of you who want to find it, hunt down the street dom­in­ated by a myriad psy­che­del­ic­ally painted houses. They're a series of guest houses that go by the same name as the nurs­ery (run by Johan's ex-wife, who remains a fan des­pite that). The nurs­ery is dir­ectly across the road, and all over the pave­ment, and, if you look around you, on just about every avail­able piece of ground.

That this is the work of a man with a pas­sion is obvi­ous. Having lived with a garden­ing nut who has trans­formed the bet­ter part of our city garden into a wild veget­able man­dala, I think I can handle it. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Tuesday, 24 January 2012

5 great things to do when in Graaff-Reinet

Reinet House

Reinet House

Stop your car on the out­skirts of town on the Camdeboo Mountain Drive and below you will lie the cir­cu­lar shape of Graaff-Reinet, held within a gen­er­ous bend of the Sundays River closest to you, and the moun­tains of the Sneeuberg in the back­ground. It's a glor­i­ous set­ting, to say the least.

Depending upon the time of year that you go, it will either be mer­ci­lessly hot (at least 40 degrees in the shade if the last couple of sum­mers are any­thing to go by) or really cold (dur­ing winter).

Neither of which should act as a deterrent, for the town is not only beau­ti­ful, it is also pretty large as far as Karoo towns go, full of a rich his­tory (it's the fourth old­est town in the coun­try after Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Swellendam) and it has count­less places to visit and things to do. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Friday, 25 November 2011

I ♥ Kenton on Sea Because ...

I ♥ Kenton on Sea

I ♥ Kenton on Sea

Hi, I’m Gill Pringle from Beach House in Kenton on Sea.

Kenton on Sea IS BEST KNOWN FOR its sheltered coves and pristine stretches of beach.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Carriage Rock which is an inter­est­ing land­mark and com­mands a superb sea view.

THE BEST fam­ily PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Shelley Bay and Mermaids' Pool.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Bushmans River mouth.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO swim at Shelley Bay.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO curl up under a mohair blanket with a good book and enjoy the view from Beach House. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Friday, 18 November 2011

I ♥ Cintsa Because ...

I ♥ Cintsa

I ♥ Cintsa

Hi, I’m Charlene Brown from Crawford's Beach Lodge and Cabins in Cintsa on the Wild Coast.
Cintsa IS BEST KNOWN FORits lovely clean beaches and untouched nature.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT any one of the many small and some­times big tide pools along the long beach.

THE BEST relax­a­tion PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN ON our lawn in front of the deluxe suites hanging around in a hammock.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS can be taken at Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve not even 10 minutes away with hand raised chee­tahs, and well behaved ele­phants. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Monday, 14 November 2011

I ♥ East London Because ...

I ♥ East London

I ♥ East London

Hi, I’m Leigh from The Rose 'n Ale in East London on the Sunshine Coast in the Eastern Cape.

East London IS BEST KNOWN FOR its friendly people and lovely beaches.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Esplande as there are often dol­phins surf­ing the waves.

THE BEST beach PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Gonubie, and Nahoon beaches.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the lion park (where they breed white lion and you can usu­ally play with them), the East London zoo and the aquar­ium, not to men­tion the ele­phant exper­i­ence at Inkwenkwezi. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Friday, 4 November 2011

I ♥ Summerstrand Because ...

I ♥ Summerstrand

I ♥ Summerstrand

Hi, I’m Christine Landman from Carslogie House in Summerstrand.

Summerstrand IS BEST KNOWN FOR its beau­ti­ful beaches.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Pier because it has the most beau­ti­ful view.

THE BEST beach PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Hobie Beach or fur­ther along towards the flat rocks.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT The Boardwalk and Entertainment Centre.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO take a long walk along the prom­en­ade which stretches all along the beach­front or to play a game of golf at the Humewood Golf Course.

WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO visit The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment Centre.

I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS sum­mer, BECAUSE the beach­front is a hive of activ­ity. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Wednesday, 21 September 2011

I ♥ Port Alfred Because ...

I ♥ Port Alfred

I ♥ Port Alfred

Hi, we are Valerie and Peter from Sunshine Cottage in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Port Alfred IS BEST KNOWN FOR being the Heart of the Sunshine Coast with pristine beaches, nature trails, the Kowie River, good game reserve and deep sea fish­ing. Many res­id­ents are des­cend­ants of the 1820 Settlers.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN next to the old can­nons on Wesley Hill.
THE BEST hol­i­day PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the small Boat Harbour or at the river mouth.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Big Pineapple in Bathhurst only 8 minutes away and in front of the small air­craft at 43 Air School en route. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Wednesday, 6 July 2011

I ♥ Port Elizabeth Because ...

 

I ♥ Port Elizabeth

I ♥ Port Elizabeth

Hi, I’m Jonker Fourie (known online as Firefly) from Port Elizabeth Daily Photo in Port Elizabeth.

Port Elizabeth IS BEST KNOWN FOR its friendly people, beau­ti­ful beaches and coast­line, game reserves on our door­step, diverse his­tory and unfor­tu­nately... the wind, which isn’t any­where as bad as people like to make it out to be.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT with a lion cub at Seaview Game and Lion Park or chee­tah at Kragga Kamma Game Park.

THE BEST sun­rise PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Shark Rocks Pier or on the Donkin Reserve.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT Sardinia Bay, Maitlands or around the his­toric build­ings on the Donkin Heritage Trail.  Check out PE Daily Photo for lots of happy snaps ideas. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Monday, 13 June 2011

I ♥ Jeffreys Bay Because ...

 

I ♥ Jeffreys Bay

I ♥ Jeffreys Bay

Hi, I’m Mia from Moya Manzi Beach House in Jeffreys Bay on the Sunshine Coast of the Eastern Cape.

Jeffreys Bay IS BEST KNOWN AS a surf­ing para­dise and espe­cially for the world renowned Billabong Pro Surfing com­pet­i­tion in July.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Supertubes over­look­ing the beach and surfers. This is one of the most pop­u­lar surf spots in South Africa and you will be sure to find the waves filled with loc­als who enjoy the surf. For those who wish to show off your skills — remem­ber tim­ing is everything!

THE BEST surf­ing PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the Supertubes surf spot. Take some pics of the incred­ible surf­ing tal­ent Jeffreys Bay has to offer — you will be able to get some fant­astic action shots!
Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Monday, 6 June 2011

I ♥ Stutterheim Because...

I ♥ Stutterheim

I ♥ Stutterheim

Hi, I’m Ingrid Newbold from The Manderson Hotel & Conference Centre in Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape.

STUTTERHEIM IS BEST KNOWN FOR its indi­gen­ous forest and moun­tains, this small town is nestled under­neath the Kologha Mountains.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Gubu Dam for an incred­ible back­drop, the water is incred­ible and has beau­ti­ful clear steams. The river is also stocked with both brown and rain­bow trout.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT that are great for photo shots are in the indi­gen­ous forest and of the moun­tain with the sun set­ting behind it or of the first rays of morn­ing light­ing up the moun­tain. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Monday, 30 May 2011

I ♥ Storms River Because...

I ♥ Storms River

I ♥ Storms River

Hi, I’m Kitty from Serenity Retreat in Storms River on the Garden Route / Eastern Cape.

Storms River IS BEST KNOWN FOR the Tsitsikamma National Park and sus­pen­sion bridge across the river mouth, The Big Tree and our ancient indi­gen­ous forests – and the fam­ous Tsitsikamma Tree Top Tour.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT The Big Tree, Storms River Mouth and on the Tree Top Canopy Tours, the Bloukrans Bungi Jump – lots of these activ­it­ies can even offer you a DVD of your adventure.

THE BEST for­set PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT at in the Plaatbos indi­gen­ous forests and the best coastal pic­tures on the Waterfall Trail (first 3 kms of the Otter Trail) and at the Storms River Mouth. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Thursday, 26 May 2011

Rhodes and Barkly East — Photographs

The Northern Ukhahlamba region of the Eastern Cape is an area of wide open spaces dom­in­ated by the majestic Drakensberg.  Known for its freez­ing winter tem­per­at­ures it is one of the only areas in the coun­try where snow ski­ing is avail­able!  This is not the only activ­ity avail­able though with options like moun­tain bik­ing, trout fish­ing, horse trails and fossil trails also high on the list of things to do.

The vil­lages of Rhodes and Barkly East are found in these Eastern Cape Highlands (one reaches Rhodes from Barkly East).  Barkly East is known as the Switzerland of South Africa, offer­ing almost guar­an­teed winter snow.  Rhodes is a little more remote and almost seems frozen in time.  Declared a con­ser­va­tion area in 1997 the vil­lage boasts won­der­ful archi­tec­ture from the flat-roofed church house to the Herbert Baker designed stone school house.  If you are vis­it­ing make sure you pop into the Rhodes Hotel. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Monday, 23 May 2011

I ♥ King Williams Town Because ...

 

I ♥ King Williams Town

I ♥ King Williams Town

Hi, I’m Alida  from Twins Guesthouse in King Williams Town in the Eatern Cape.

King Williams Town IS BEST KNOWN FOR its his­tor­ical build­ings and sites. The town star­ted as a mis­sion sta­tion on the banks of the Buffalo River in 1834 and boasts a num­ber of old and inter­est­ing build­ings.  The British Kaffrarian Savings Bank housed the fin­an­cial insti­tu­tion from the 19th Century to the cur­rent time and Fort Murray dates back to 1848.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT Terry’s Sound and Vision. If you don’t fancy that why not find a suit­able spot in the Botanical Gardens.  The gar­dens are beau­ti­ful and fea­ture five sep­ar­ate con­ser­vat­or­ies. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues
Thursday, 19 May 2011

The Kouga Wilderness – experience it by land or by water

Eden to Addo

Eden to Addo

I know someone who has kayaked along the Kouga River. He describes his trip as a com­plete escape from civil­isa­tion and some­thing you have to do once in a life­time. Camping on the banks of the river, which leads through isol­ated wil­der­ness the beauty of which will cap­ture your heart and enslave you to the memor­ies of what it is to be alone on a river, is now top of his list of the incred­ible get­aways he has exper­i­enced (and he's exper­i­enced a number).

The Kouga Wilderness is prob­ably best explored this way. It hasn't been described by some as 'inhos­pit­able' for noth­ing – tangled rav­ine forests, sheer rock faces that scream to be abseiled, whilst beau­ti­ful from the tran­quil, rel­at­ive safety of the river, are rather ardu­ous on foot. Continued

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Article by: The Team @ SA-Venues