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Port Elizabeth Property
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho. It is partly the traditional home of the Xhosa, and the birthplace of many prominent South Africans, such as Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko and Charles Coghlan.
Geography
The Eastern Cape gets progressively wetter from west to east. The west is mostly semi-arid Karoo, except in the far south, which is temperate rainforest in the Tsitsikamma region. The coast is generally rugged with interspersed beaches. Most of the province is hilly to very mountainous between Graaff-Reinet and Rhodes including the Sneeuberge , Stormberge, Winterberge and Drakensberg. The highest point in the province is Ben Macdhui at 3001m. The east from East London towards the Kwa-Zulu Natal border is lush grassland with intermittent forest. This region, Transkei, is rolling hills punctuated by deep gorges.
Climate
Climate is highly varied. The west is dry with scarse rain during winter of summer, with frosty winters and hot summers. The Tsitsikamma to Grahamstown receives more precipitation, which is also relatively evenly distributed and temperatures are mild. Further east, rainfall becomes more plentiful and humidity increases, becoming more subtropical along the coast with summer rainfall. The interior can become very cold in winter, with heavy snowfalls occurring at times in the mountainous regions between Molteno and Rhodes.
- Port Elizabeth: Jan Max: 25°C, Min: 18°C; Jul Max: 20°C, Min: 9°C
- Molteno & Barkly East: Jan Max 28°C, Min 11°C; Jul Max: 14°C, Min: -7°C
Industry
With two harbours and three airports offering direct flights to the main centres, and an excellent road and rail infrastructure, the province has been earmarked as a key area for growth and economic development. Environmentally friendly projects include the Fish River Spatial Development Initiative, the Wild Coast SDI, and two industrial development zones, the West Bank in East London and, near Port Elizabeth, Coega - the largest infrastructure development in post-apartheid South Africa.