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The view from Mount
Thesiger is something that one should see
if visiting Port St Johns.
Many thanks to Chris Hughes for his images.
Some
other views of Port St Johns:
"The
river mouth is guarded by Mount Thesiger and Mount Sullivan, called
the Gates of St John. The bustling Port St Johns is a magical little
coastal village."
http://www.coastingafrica.com/City.asp?CityID=73&Level=2
The
destination guide of the Sunday Times Explorer journey around South
Africa, which lasted from April to December 2000 had a number of features
relating to Port St Johns. http://www.suntimes.co.za/explorer/
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Food
of the week:
" It's a toss-up between fresh oysters and red wine outside Ben
Dekker's cave overlooking the surf at Port St Johns and Mama Somakepu's
home-style cooking - which includes umgqushu and inkukhu (chicken),
served to the amusing banter of her children and the Southern Cross
- at nearby Noqhekwana."
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/2000/04/30/
lifestyle/travel/travel03.htm
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Taking up a little
less than 14% of South Africa, the Eastern Cape is home to a population
of 6 million people, mostly Xhosa. The rolling hills, long empty beaches,
dramatic mountain ranges and ancient forests make it one of the most
beautiful places to visit.
Port St. Johns,
the largest town on the Wild Coast, is set
at the point between the tropical weather systems of Natal and the
temperate southern weather of the Cape Province. The weather systems
play an important part of life in Port St Johns, with many days offering
a mix of bright sun, towering storms and clear nights.
Set on the Southern
Bank of the Umzimvubu River, the town and outlying hamlets stretch
across 12 kilometers of beach and forest. Most northerly is Agate
Terrace, the small group of houses tucked into a grove of great Milkwood
trees.
Long Beach, stretching
from Agate Terrace to the Umzimvubu River, was the location for many
of the best scenes from the 1976 Lee Marvin, Roger Moore and Barbra
Parkins movie "Shout at the Devil."
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Doing Business on the Wild Coast
Click for more info
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You can take
a rowboat ferry (R2.50 each way.) across the wide expanse of the Umzimvubu
River or walk up the northern side of the river past huge, ancient
trees and rocky outcrops, Cremorne Estate, the Pondo People Gallery
and The Jetty to the Pondoland Bridge. Built in 1953, this bridge
opened access to a faster route to Natal.
In recent years the town of Port St Johns has become an important
retail and distribution center. Although perhaps not as interesting
to the tourist looking for pristine tourism towns, any visitor to
PSJ will be amazed by the vibrancy and the busy streets.
The hotels and
backpacker guest lodges on the town beach - First Beach - offer some
of the most interesting, unspoilt and truly natural cultural tours
available in South Africa.
Then
there is Second Beach. This you just have to see. Apart from being a
gorgeous beach, set in perfect tropical forests, there are good restaurants
to explore, the best nightlife for a hundred kilometres and walks into
the Silaka Nature Reserve forests and to Third Beach. |
The weather is
very favourable, with warm summers and mild winters, with only a slight
chance of mild frost in the valleys.
January
July
Mean maximum (oC) 25,3 21,4
Mean minimum (oC) 19,8 13,4
Port St Johns’
weather station records indicate a mean annual rainfall of some 1250mm
with a monthly average of 100-160mm falling in the summer months,
September to April.
Regular visitors to Port St Johns will be interested in the new library and museum complex next to the Town Hall.
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The five tribes
who make up the fiercely independent Pondoland tribal grouping have
given succor to generations of runaways. In a tradition stretching
back to the wars between the Zulu to the North and Xhosa to the South,
the Pondo have learnt to keep their own traditions in the face of
large cultural invasions.
Over the ages,
fugitives have found the Umzimvubu River a haven of peace and beauty.
Soldiers on the run from the Napoleonic wars, peoples fleeing the
colonial power of the British Empire and anti-apartheid activists
from more recent times have all found a place to live on the Wild
Coast. It is said that pirates including Captain Kidd made Port St
Johns a regular stop.
The Dick King
Memorial in Port St Johns commemorates the historic ride of Dick King,
who rode from the 1000 kilometers from Port Natal (Durban) to Grahamstown
in 1842 to get help from the British garrison there when Port Natal
was besieged by the Boers.
British soldiers
raised the Union Jack at Port St. Johns for the first time in 1871.
In 1878, the
British made an agreement with Chief Nqwiliso of the Pondo people
to build a proper harbor. Cape Hermes was named after the ship which
was used by the Royal Navy to carry out a hydrological study of the
Umzimvubu. Gordons Bay, into which the Umzimvubu River flows, is named
after the captain of the vessel.
It is interesting
that Port St Johns was already named at this time. One belief is that
the most likely reason for this odd name is due to the shape of St
John's face eroded into the cliffs of Mount Thesiger. This would have
been visible for miles out at sea.
Others believe
that this obscure name for a tiny african port is due to the shipwreck
of the Portugese warship, "San Juan" at Port Edward 100
kilometers northwards.
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