Port Elizabeth, South Africa

 On our journey to Port Elizabeth, we sailed past an oil-drilling platform in the Indian Ocean. If we thought St. Helena and some of the other small islands we passed were remote and confining, I can only imagine how it must be for the workers on the platform.

We arrived in Port Elizabeth on a bright sunny day with mists rolling in not far behind us. It was a toss up as to what the weather was going to be like that day.

Port Elizabeth, the fifth largest city in South Africa, is located on the Eastern Cape or Indian Ocean side of the country. It is said to be a popular resort with many fine beaches, and Port Elizabeth claims to have more hours of sunshine than any other coastal city in South Africa. For the British, looking for an escape from the rainy winters of England, that is a real draw.

Again, it was the Portuguese who first visited this area, quickly followed by the Dutch, and then the British. It was the acting governor of the British colony who named the city—Elizabeth, after his late wife, who had died in India—not after Queen Elizabeth.

Port Elizabeth is known as the “Detroit of South Africa” because of the automobile manufacturing done there. Sitting on the upper deck of the QE, we watched hundreds of Volkswagen minivans being driven onto a huge roll-on, roll-off ship docked nearby. The ship had a Japanese flag flying, so it is possible that Volkswagens made in South Africa were being shipped to Japan. Strange.

Ship

Speaking of automobiles, in South Africa, and in a number of other countries we’ve visited, people drive on the left side of the road, reflecting the British heritage and influences on these countries. Since the traffic patterns can change with each country we visit, we need to look both ways (a few times) when crossing streets. It is easy to forget which direction the traffic will be coming from. 

Also, these countries use traffic circles at intersections. Vehicles approaching the circle must give way to vehicles already in the circle. We’ve seen this work smoothly and other times when it didn’t, depending on how backed up the traffic was. It was amazing how many tiny cars were willing to challenge our tour bus.

We decided to walk around Old Port Elizabeth, visiting the historic section of the city, and took the shuttle bus. The sign on the shuttle only read, “Cunard Shuttle,” nothing about where it was going. We probably should have listened to the port presentation given before each place we visit, because we found ourselves dropped off at the Broadwalk on Marine Drive, close to a convention center, casino, and the beach. The convention building and surrounding shops and restaurants were quite attractive but looked like something from Disney World.

Convention Center

Hobie Beach Area

We had a lovely walk along beautiful Robie Beach and Shark Rock Pier. It was only about 15 minutes from the ship and would an excellent place for passengers arriving on future voyages who want to go to the beach. In fact, on the shuttle back, I sat next to a woman from Australia who was headed back to the ship to get some towels so she could go back to take a dip in the ocean. I was worried that she wasn’t going to make it back before the ship sailed. She was determined. I saw her later and she said enjoyed her swim, even if she cut it a bit short. Nothing like living on the edge.

The shuttle back to the ship dropped us near the entrance of the dockyard so we could walk into the historic area—it was only a few blocks from the ship. Oh, well. At least we got to see the beach area.

In the central city area, a statue of Queen Victoria sat in the middle of the town square, surrounded by government buildings and the public library—in styles from various eras. The main shopping street off the square was teaming with people and vendors selling carved figures and other locally made wares. The area didn’t seem prepared for tourists—we couldn’t find a picture post card anywhere.

Statue of Queen Victoria

City Square

One of the reasons for our stop in Port Elizabeth was to pick up the passengers who had gone on an optional trip from Cape Town on safari overnight, returning to the ship in Port Elizabeth. It was an interesting place to visit and probably a more realistic reflection of South Africa.

By midafternoon, since it was very hot and we were worn out and gasping for a cup of tea, we walked back to the ship with a group of Australians. They described their hike up the steep hill behind us to see a church and a lighthouse. We looked up the hill and opted for the cup of tea.

Since we had a South African stamp for a post card, we went back to the ship, got a QE post card, wrote it out, and took it to one of the local women directing the shuttle buses on the pier. She had kindly offered to mail the card for us when we asked her where we could find a mailbox. The people we’ve come across during our voyage have been so kind.

At dinner that evening, we compared notes about our visit with our tablemates. Two of them, Rory and Molly, once owned a vineyard in Canada and enjoy sampling the local wines and beers in each port. They spoke of a beer called Car Park John’s, which they tasted at the Beer Shack in Port Elizabeth, just past the Broadwalk. According to the story they were told, the owner of the Beer Shack learned that John, who worked at a car park nearby, brewed a good beer. After tasting it, he decided to serve it at the shack. The rest is history. They also spoke highly about the beers at Ferryman’s Pub at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. More to come later about great beers along our journey.

Sailing Away From Port Elizabeth

Correction

Previously I wrote that we hadn’t seen a single canary in the Canary Islands. A friend, currently spending the winter in nearby Lanzarote, wrote to say that the “Canaries are named from the Latin word canis for dog, nothing to do with canary birds!” We didn’t see any dogs there either.