Eastern Cape Online

Things to Do in the Eastern Cape

National parks, heritage museums and natural landmarks across the Eastern Cape — what each one is, what to expect and how to get there.

The Bhunga Building housing the Nelson Mandela Museum in Mthatha

Museum & heritage

Nelson Mandela Museum

Mthatha & Qunu

The national museum dedicated to Nelson Mandela, split between the Bhunga Building in central Mthatha and the heritage site at Qunu, the village where he grew up.

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Elephants in the bush at Addo Elephant National Park

National park & safari

Addo Elephant National Park

Addo

South Africa's third-largest national park and the easiest place in the Eastern Cape to see elephants in the wild, roughly an hour's drive from Gqeberha.

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The Hole in the Wall rock arch on the Wild Coast near Coffee Bay

Natural landmark

Hole in the Wall

Coffee Bay

The Wild Coast's most recognisable landmark: a detached cliff standing offshore with a wave-cut arch punched clean through it, about 9km from Coffee Bay.

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Dolerite rock columns at the Valley of Desolation near Graaff-Reinet

Natural landmark

Valley of Desolation

Graaff-Reinet

Sheer dolerite columns rising above the Karoo plains inside Camdeboo National Park, a short drive from the centre of Graaff-Reinet.

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The Kouga River winding through the mountains of the Baviaanskloof

Wilderness & 4x4

Baviaanskloof Wilderness

Willowmore to Patensie

A long mountain valley between the Baviaanskloof and Kouga ranges, part of the Cape Floral Region World Heritage Site and one of the great gravel drives in South Africa.

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Storms River mouth and suspension bridge in the Tsitsikamma

National park & coast

Tsitsikamma & Storms River Mouth

Storms River

Indigenous forest meeting a rocky coastline in the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park, where the Storms River cuts out to the sea beneath a suspension bridge.

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