East London

East London serves as a gateway to three of the Eastern Cape's tourist destinations: the Sunshine Coast to the west of East London, the Wild Coast to the east and the Amatola Mountain Escarpment, towards the interior. Along these routes are destinations of exceptional beauty including sandy beaches, coastal cliffs, fertile valleys, river estuaries, lagoons and indigenous forests.

East London's climate is mild and temperate with temperatures ranging from 10 degrees in June to 26 degrees in January. The average hours of sunshine are in excess of 200 hours per month. The region experiences a bimodal rainfall pattern with pronounced rainy periods coinciding with the equinoxes and with the dry periods in mid-summer and mid-winter. There is a pronounced spring maximum rainfall over the region when predominant southeasterly winds bring rain to the coastal areas. The average annual rainfall is 889mm. The region boasts a healthy climate: warm summers and mild, crisp, clear winters - conducive to nature and outdoor adventure activities.

Flora

Situated in a geological and climatically transitional zone, the Eastern Cape's vegetation boasts five biomes. This ranges from sand dunes along the coast, to subtropical thicket in the inland river valleys. The Eastern Cape vegetation is renowned for its tenacity. One such plant, the pelargonium or geranium, has been identified as the world's most popular garden plant and has its origin in this region. An interesting endemic species is 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: yellowwood, sweet thorn, tree euphorbia, cabbage tree, coral, aloe and cycads.

Activities include:

• Angling
• Deep-Sea Fishing
• Golf
• Horse Riding
• Hunting
• Scuba Diving
• Snorkelling
• Spear Fishing
• Surfing
• Swimming
• Hiking

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