PE FOR ART LOVERS
If you prefer gawking at artworks rather than shop fronts and would choose a heritage or graffiti walk over people-watching, then pack your bags for a weekend of art and history in Port Elizabeth.
DAY 1
08h00
After breakfast walk along the promenade to Shark Rock Pier. Here you’ll see surfers getting their daily adrenaline fix and fishermen casting their lines into the Indian Ocean.
09h00
Head to Mastertons (114 Russell Road), Port Elizabeth’s oldest coffee roasters and tea specialists who have been around since 1924. This family-run business is famed for its hand-roasted Arabica coffee. If you stay long enough, one of the family members will surely tell you the story of founder Ronald John “Jock” Masterton.
10h30
Grab your walking shoes and smartphone. The free Travel Guide to Nelson Mandela Bay app will be your personalised tour guide. It features comprehensive audio guides, walking maps and photographs of the Donkin Heritage Trail and Route 67. Or you can hire a guide at the Donkin Reserve Visitor Centre (Lungelo Ngabaza: +27 63 166 2997).
The 5 km-long Donkin Heritage Trail links 51 places of historical interest along the old Hill area. It’s a three-hour, openair lesson on the area’s indigenous people, the 1820 Settlers, as well as modern-day history through Port Elizabeth’s timeline as you walk the old city centre.
Admire the Victorian architecture as you begin at the main library in the shadow of Queen Victoria’s statue and make your way past the City Hall, Old Museum, Horse Memorial and end off at St Mary’s Anglican Cathedral.
13h30
Grab a bite to eat at the Friendly Stranger on Bridge Street in the Baakens Valley. Because the cafe has no storage space (don’t blame it – it’s one of the oldest building in Port Elizabeth), fresh produce is bought each day and the meals are made from scratch. After you’re well fed, owners Kim and Amy Barnard will point you in the direction of various examples of street art by Steven “Joff” Carter in the valley nearby, starting with one of his original murals on their wall and two others a few metres away.
16h00
If you can’t find them all, you can ask Joff for their exact location. You’ll find Joff in his studio on the corner of Alabaster Street and Lower Valley Road in the buzzing Baakens Valley Precinct. It’s a mix of creative spaces and Chicky’s Yard entertainment hub is surrounded by a selection of food outlets. Browse the various stores where you can buy woodwork and pottery or peek into art studios. Then start off with a rumbased drink at Brickmakers Distilling Co, or a craft beer brewed and bottled on site at the Richmond Hill Brewing Co. Later take your pick of Asian street food at Foong’s, Italian specialities at Remo’s or gourmet boerie rolls and hamburgers at Frederick & Son. Leave space for dessert at Han-Made Ice-Cream.
DAY 2
09h00
Route 67 is a collection of 67 public artworks by local artists. The collection symbolises Nelson Mandela’s 67 years of political work for South Africa’s freedom, alongside other freedom fighters.
This self-guided walking tour is a celebration of the city’s history, heritage and diversity, as expressed through art and colour. The app will guide you as you start below Donkin Reserve at the Campanile Monument, before passing below Settlers Way flyover with its colourful portraits of young South Africans.
Donkin Reserve is probably the most loved part of the route – and for good reason. Here the world’s largest South African flag (12 m x15 m) flaps on a 60-m high flagpole above the stunning 40 m2 mosaic that leads to the lighthouse. From its window you’ll understand why Donkin Reserve is called the “balcony of the Bay”. The stone pyramid next to it was built by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin (governor of the Cape Colony from 1820 to 1821) in memory of his late wife Elizabeth, after whom the city is named. It’s a tragic love story I’ll leave you to discover when you visit.
Though there are many beautiful artworks and sculptures at Donkin Reserve, the one that gets the most attention is undoubtedly the evocative life-size, steel voting line with Madiba’s clenched fist in the air.
11h00
Pop into artEC (36 Bird Street) along the route. This non-profit organisation and community art centre boasts a vibrant mural by Bongani Njalo and Gabriel Chaponda. Open-call exhibitions are held throughout the year and showcase the work of less established and rural artists in the region. It’s also a space for artists from nearby informal settlements as well as school children to work, train and exhibit. Spend an hour exploring the artists’ studios and check out the schedule for the live music and poetry readings artEC often hosts.
12h30
Take your pick of any of the three Blue Flag beaches in PE (King’s Beach, Hobie Beach or Humewood Beach) for sun, sand and ice-cream, followed by lunch at a nearby beachside restaurant.