About Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is where South Africa's automotive industry is anchored, with Volkswagen, Isuzu and Mercedes-Benz plants running out of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and East London and supplying vehicles across the region. It is also Xhosa heartland and the province Nelson Mandela was born into, at Mvezo on the banks of the Mbashe River, and the Wild Coast's cliffs and river mouths remain one of the least developed stretches of coastline in the country. Addo Elephant National Park, near Gqeberha, protects one of the densest elephant populations in Africa. Each July the town of Makhanda hosts the National Arts Festival, one of the largest arts gatherings on the continent, drawing on a province that has long combined manufacturing muscle with a strong literary and theatrical tradition centred on Rhodes University.

Eastern Cape's smaller towns keep well over 130 events on the calendar through the rest of spring. Graaff-Reinet draws endurance athletes to the Tri the Karoo Triathlon in mid-October, while Makhanda answers with the GBS Mutual Bank Oldenburgia Trail Run a week later. Down the coast, Saint Francis Bay's St Francis Bubbles Festival 2026 rounds out October with bubbles and brunch, and Port Alfred hosts days of faith and fellowship at OVERFLOW - LEGACY CONFERENCE 2026. Ngcobo closes out the month with a different kind of showcase, the Ephondweni Battle of Maskandi Legends. Trail running, faith gatherings and coastal festivals keep carrying the province's small-town calendar.