East London is a city on the southeastern coast of South Africa, in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The Eastern Cape is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
Stellenbosch is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated about 50 kilometres east of Cape Town, along the banks of the Eerste River at the foot of the Stellenbosch Mountain. The town became known as the City of Oaks or Eikestad in Afrikaans and Dutch due to the large number of oak trees that were planted by its founder, Simon van der Stel, to grace the streets and homesteads.
Dordrecht is a town situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Dordrecht was founded in 1856 by Baron Smiddolff, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. The town was named for the city of the same name in the South-Western Netherlands and had a population of about 8,741 people in 2001.
Knysna is a town with 76,150 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. and is one of the destinations on the loosely defined Garden Route tourist route. It is situated 60 kilometres east of the city of George on the N2 highway, and 33 kilometres west of the Plettenberg Bay on the same road.
Bethlehem is a city in the eastern Free State province of South Africa that is situated on the Liebenbergs river along a fertile valley just north of the Rooiberg Mountains on the N5 road. It is the fastest growing city in the Free state province, with its target of being the third largest city after Bloemfontein and Welkom.
Strand is a seaside resort town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the Helderberg region of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the north-eastern edge of False Bay and near the foot of the Helderberg Mountains. Its geographical position is between Somerset West and Gordon's Bay, and is about 50 km southeast of Cape Town City Bowl. Strand has a population of approximately 50,000. Strand's main attraction is the beach; 5 km of white sandy beach off False Bay.
Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London, Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result of a merger between Border Technikon, Eastern Cape Technikon and the University of Transkei. The university is named after Walter Sisulu, a prominent figure in the struggle against apartheid.
Manzini is a large city in Eswatini (Swaziland), which is also the capital of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known as "The Hub" of Eswatini and lies on the MR3 road. Eswatini's primary industrial site at Matsapha lies near the town's western border.
Beaufort West is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the Beaufort West Local Municipality, with 34,085 inhabitants in 2011.
Cathcart is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, named after Sir George Cathcart, governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope 1852–1853. The town is situated on the N6, 48 kilometres (30 mi) north of Stutterheim en route to Komani. And it is the Biltong capital of South Africa.
Tarkastad is a Karoo semi-urban settlement situated on the banks Tarka River in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Tarkastad is on a plain to the north of the Winterberg mountain range on the R61 between Cradock and Komani and only three hours from Gqeberha. The name Tarkastad is believed to come from the Khoi-Khoi word Traka or the Celtic word Tarka and the Afrikaans word Stad. The fact that the town is overlooked by Martha and Mary; two peaks which look like two women resting after a hard day's work, also lends to the name.
Todd Tozama Matshikiza OMSS was a South African jazz pianist, composer and journalist. As a journalist, he was a contributor to the innovatory South African magazine Drum, and known for his autobiographical short stories. As a musician, Matshikiza was celebrated for composing the score of the musical King Kong. He became a Google Doodle on 25th September 2023.
Whittlesea is a semi-rural town situated in the Hewu district, 37 km south of Queenstown, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The town is made up of the townships Ekuphumleni, Bhede, Extension 4, Extension 5 and Sada. The town falls under the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality which is under the Chris Hani District Municipality. Surrounding Whittlesea are 36 villages which make up the Hewu district.
The N6 is a national route in South Africa that connects East London with Bloemfontein, via Komani and Maletswai. It runs roughly from north to south, connecting the N1 with the N2.
Ezibeleni is a township in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It was established in the 1960s and officially recognised in 1974, when black South Africans were not allowed to live, but only to work, in the white-dominated Queenstown. In order to pursue the policy of separate development, the apartheid-era government of the time dictated that, due to its location on the map and the predominant Xhosa ethnicity of its people, Ezibeleni would belong to Transkei, one of ten fragmented batustans, or homelands, scattered across South Africa.
Jamestown is a town on the N6 national road 58 km south of Aliwal North and 105 km north of Komani in the Joe Gqabi District Municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is at the centre of a fertile sheep, cattle and wheat-farming area and was the terminus of a branch railway line from Molteno. It was named after James Wagenaar, original owner of the farm on which the town was laid out.
Sada is a semi-rural settlement, situated 3 km away from Whittlesea, 30 km north of Seymour and 40 km south of Queenstown, Eastern Cape Province. The word Sada means "finally" or "at last" in isiXhosa because the first settlers struggled to find a place before they settled in the area in 1964.
On 17 November 1985, 2000 residents from Mlungisi township in Queenstown, Eastern Cape, gathered in Nonzwakazi Methodist Church to hear back from the Local Residents Association, who, in early November, had met with the Department of Education and Training, the Queenstown municipality, the Eastern Cape Development Board, and the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce to discuss the end of the consumer boycott. The meeting was short-lived as members of the Queenstown branch of the South African Police stormed into the meeting and opened fire on the residents. In the ensuing conflict between police and residents, 14 people were shot dead and 22 were injured. This incident is known as the 1985 Queenstown Massacre.
