Westlands, Port Elizabeth

Close enough to Port Elizabeth to reach the centre and do all the touristy things, and yet far enough away from the noise and race of daily living, Westlands is a perfect base when staying Port Elizabeth. This part of a town is a series of small holdings and residential properties that give the feeling of country living, away from it all.

Just off the N2, Westlands lies nestled in amongst Crockarts Hope, farms, Denholme and Colleen Glen just 20 minutes from the airport, traffic dependent. Despite being out of the city centre, one is not far from the sea. Lovely Seaview, Kini Bay and Beachview are roughly ten minutes' away. Known as the 'wilder' coast of Port Elizabeth because of the lack of development, these beaches are pretty, interspersed with coastal springs that run into the bay and full of little rock pools about which not every visitor knows.

Maitlands beach, close to Beachview, is situated at the Maitland River Mouth, and has a wide expanse of beach with huge and high sand dunes that make sand duning an experience worth enjoying. If you are into beach duning, then Sardinia Bay too is said to have stunning sand dunes. And the village of Seaview, mainly dairy farms, small holdings and stables, is lovely.

Out this way too is the Seaview Game and Lion Park, where you get to cuddle lion cubs as part of the white lion breeding programme. They are reared by the staff where you will also be able to see three adult tigers. It's a lovely visit and a good day's outing.

In Westlands itself there are shopping centres, despite the distance from the city proper, and the Wyndomayne Tea Garden in Little Chelsea is a lovely space in which to commune with indigenous plants whilst drinking a cuppa.