Nelson Mandela Bay offers excellent and varied sporting facilities and the city hosts numerous exciting sports events
all year round. The many different sport clubs cater for a variety of all-year or seasonal sport activities such as:
squash, volleyball, badminton, tennis, roller hockey, cricket, motor-racing, horse-racing, soccer, hockey, golf, bowls
and rugby.
The city often hosts international sport events, especially rugby and cricket in the two internationally recognised
stadia, namely St George's Park Cricket Oval and Telkom Park Football Stadium. Racing at the Arlington Race Course and
the Fairview Race Course provides entertainment and excitement for both locals and tourists.
The Bay, tagged as the "Watersport Capital" of Africa, offers unrivalled conditions in addition to an abundance of action
packed activities throughout the year. Surf lifesaving, rubber ducking, jet-skiing, canoeing, surfing, paragliding and
power-boating events are held on a regular basis. Jeffreys Bay, a neighbouring coastal town, is renowned world-wide
among surfers as the home of the 'perfect wave' and hosts the annual "Billabong Classic" which draws the world's top
surfers each year.
The Metro offers the best boardsailing conditions in South Africa and provides near perfect conditions for bay and river
sailing, as well as quality wave-jumping. The pier at Hobie Beach, Port Elizabeth, is the perfect place to watch the
colourful sails of the hobie cats and the windsurfers skimming along the waters. If you want to participate, remember
the "wild side" is for hard-core windsurfers who appreciate excellent reef breaks and cross-shore conditions while
Lookout and Noordhoek are favourite spots for waveski riders. Water sport equipment such as surfboards and boogie
boards may be hired from different companies throughout the metro.
Scuba diving is very popular and the diving sites in Port Elizabeth are of world-class quality with beautiful reefs,
shipwrecks, fish and colourful soft coral species. The protected warm waters of Algoa Bay provides scuba divers with
the most exciting and diverse range of dive sites in the country. Reefs and pinnacles range from depths of ten to
thirty meters, especially round the Cape Recife area, and visibility of up to 30 meters has been recorded. Spectacular
fishlife as well as sponges, seaweed, soft and hard coral, and anemones are to be found at some dive spots. The area
also offers snorkeling and visitors are invited to experience the weightless, silent world beneath the turquoise waters
of the sea. Courses are offered for the whole family ranging from a couple of hours to a whole week.
Island Cruises and Sea & Sundowner Cruises are on offer in Algoa Bay which enables one to see Cape Fur Seals, numerous
sea birds, surrounding shipwrecks and sometimes even pods of dolphins. Visit the St Croix Island Marine Reserve and
see one of the larger breeding colonies of endangered African Penguins, Cape fun seals and whales.
Fresh, Surf and deep-sea angling opportunities are endless along the beautiful Algoa Bay coastline. The "dolosse"
(huge concrete-blocks of specific shape) scattered around the bay area and the harbour breakwaters are fabulous
angling sites for novices and children. More experienced anglers are advised to fish at Cape Recife Nature Reserve
as record catches of mussel cracker, elf and hottentot have been recorded in the area.
A variety of adventure activities can be explored by the adventurer in and around Nelson Mandela Bay. Activities include
horse riding and quad biking over the dunes and along the beach in specific demarkated areas. For the cyclist there are safe tarred roads or the mountain
biking option on good gravel roads through beautiful scenic farmlands and nature areas.
Other activities in the surrounding areas include blackwater tubing, abseiling, walks and hiking opportunities in indigenous forests,
guided hikes, beautiful day walks, as well as bass- and fly fishing. Unique eco-wilderness tours are offered into the magnificent
Tsitsikamma indigenous rainforest.
From the Metro the visitor can travel along the Sunshine Coast - walk unencumbered along pristine beaches of the Eastern
Cape cool off in pools along the way canoe up quiet waterways, and soak up the beauty of nature on a luxury hike. What
set these hikes apart from other luxury hikes is the quality of hosting. You stay with hospitable folks who have been
in the area for a long time, and have an intimate knowledge of the environment, its history, and its people.
The different hiking, biking mountain biking and 4x4 trails who offer visitors the opportunity to experience the unique biodiversity
and abundance of bird and plant life of the area.
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General Adventure