The Real City Tour
Discover the essence of Africa... Daily Departures
The Shebeen Tour
Come share real African hospitality... Daily Departures
Departures Daily: 10 a.m
Duration: three and a half hours
Discover the real essence of South Africa by taking an unforgettable ‘roller coaster’ ride tour that reveals the inescapable contrast between social deprivation, but at the same time highlights the inspirational stories and successes of the present.
Our expert guides explain in detail the complex history surrounding Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, giving you a unique opportunity to see the city through different eyes and meet the ordinary people ‘face to face’.
This informative city tour includes insight into the lives of the early Settlers, and explores the harsh legacies of ‘Apartheid’ that have shaped our history. At some levels the country still remains surprisingly divided and this journey into the past, present and future aims to narrow that divide and clarify misconceptions.
Particular emphasis is on Port Elizabeth’s Black history, examining its time of transformation and new development. We explore the arrival of the first Settlers, the Donkin Reserve and their influence. We focus on 7 of the oldest townships in Port Elizabeth, including New Brighton, Kwazakhele, and Zwide. The combined population of which is over 400 000 people.
The tour covers a distance of around 70 kilometres, and exposes the diversity of people from all walks of life, not only those in the desperately poor areas, but also the middle class and elite suburbs within a thriving community – interspersed with monuments to remember the struggle, and colourful and high activity trading markets.
The incredible amount of positive feedback from our clients is undoubtedly a result of contact with local people at the community projects we visit.
Port Elizabeth is known as ‘The Friendly City’ and the unmistakably warm welcome is something that remains forever etched in the memory.
A township is not just about being poor, it is also about people living together in a community with a beating heart – and displaying the real ‘spirit of South Africa’.
