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Nelson Mandela Bay is the ideal fun, entertainment and shopping holiday destination; offering various entertainment opportunities to the
family, students, yuppies and adults alike. Enjoyable evening entertainment include sundowner cruises, nightclubs, cocktail bars, late night music spots,
fine art theatre performances, movies, restaurants and cultural performances.
Tourism in the city was initially built on the local family market and offers a delightful variety of children's activities. Holmeleigh Farmyard is
an animal touch farm, and is located off Kragga Kamma Road. This is a children's paradise where farm-life can be experienced firsthand by feeding,
caring and learning about farm animals.
The "Sea Breeze Express" is a wonderful children's attraction. The miniature train, which is run by Round Table No. 8
in aid of charities, operates during the summer holiday season. You will find this miniature express along the Kings
Beach Promenade. The Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Society in Sunridge Park also offers miniature train excursions to
children on the first Sunday of each month.
Happy Valley, which is connected to Humewood Beach via a sub-way, is ideal for family strolls in pleasant surroundings and offers a delightful fairy-tale
and nursery rhyme setting of colourfull lights in the evening. There are lily ponds, rockeries, gigantic palms and peaceful retreats to enjoy, as well as
a giant chessboard which has been laid out on the lawn.
McArthur's Baths Swimming Pool is ideally situated along Kings Beach Promenade, Humewood Beach. The complex comprises of a freshwater pool, a tidal
sea-water pool, change rooms, a children's waterchute and splash pool, as well as a snack-bar / restaurant. The St George's Park Swimming Baths are located
in St George's Park, the oldest park in Port Elizabeth. The complex comprises a Olympic sized swimming pool with a diving area, as well as a children's pool
and snack-bar.
Various concerts, performances, modern musicals, operettas and small productions by various theatre groups are staged at the different theatres in the
metro on a regular basis; whether it is opera, cultural dances or open-air Shakespeare that you prefer, Nelson Mandela Bay caters for every taste!
The restaurants, pubs and taverns in and around the city offer a wide range of cuisine, reflecting the diverse cultures and peoples of the area. Port
Elizabeth boasts the highest capita ratio of restaurants per population in South Africa, and an excellent selection of restaurants from the historical
city centre to the outlying suburbs of the metro offers a wide range of cuisine to satisfy any palate.
Nelson Mandela Bay has no shortage of talented local artists who provide excellent performances and live music! Pubs, night-clubs, taverns and late night spots will
provide an interesting and enjoyable evening's entertainment while cinema lovers have many air-conditioned cinema venues from which to choose. Daily
newspapers publish schedules of all screening times.
Shebeens are the previously illegal drinking houses particular to South Africa - where there's a township there's a shebeen! The townships are
always vibrant and portray the heart of social life of black South Africans. Visit one of the many venues where the music is of the best in
Africa, the vibe is laid back and the drinks are outrageously cheap!
Designed to be a "must see" attraction with a full mix of family fun, entertainment, shopping, dining and gaming, the Boardwalk Casino and
Entertainment World has added a whole new dimension to leisure in the metro. Located in Summerstrand, the complex is set around a series of
man-made lakes and beautiful gardens lit by 40 000 Tivoli lights. There are numerous entertainment venues available in the centre, such as
the elegant Tsitsikamma Conference Centre; the Supersport Arena, which features a regular line-up of comedy and music acts, and the Boardwalk
Amphitheatre. Apart from these attractions, the casino offers 700 slot machines and 20 gaming tables, including blackjack and roulette.
Furthermore, the Boardwalk also offers a selection of restaurants, specialist shops, a Craft Workshop as well as the
Starz Cinema five screens.
Bay World transfers the visitor into the wonder world of the ocean and offers popular dolphin and seal
presentations daily. Exhibits within the Oceanarium include an underwater observation area in the aquarium, a dolphin research centre,
various smaller tanks for 40 different species of bony fish, as well as two larger tanks housing sharks and stingrays.
A Different kind of entertainment is a trip on a steam train. The Apple Express, a narrow-gauge steam train, travels regularly
between Port Elizabeth (departing from the Humewood Road Station) and Van Stadens Bridge, approximately 40km from Port Elizabeth. Another
option is to visit the Port Elizabeth People's Observatory if you are interested in astronomy and wish to be informed about the stars and
planets and the many wonders of the Gateway.
Nelson Mandela Bay is a serious shopper's paradise and caters for the entire spectrum of shoppers.
Specialty and antique shops are abound; scattered at interesting sites around the city. The tree-lined streets accommodate businesses, private
homes and the most interesting array of shops, all co-existing in perfect harmony. Some shops specialize only in fresh flowers, on ceramics,
second-hand books and on clothes. Most of the antique shops prevail in the historical area of Central Port Elizabeth along Rink Parliament
and Lawrence Streets, as well as Clyde Street, Pearson Street and Westbourne Road. In Uitenhage, notable antique haunts are located along
Cuyler, John & Caledon Streets. Diamond and gold jewelry, including a wide range of specially designed and handmade old jewelry, are
available at different jewelry shops throughout the metro.
Original, traditional and attractive mementoes and souvenirs are available throughout the metro and the more informal shopper can visit the
flea market and "Art-in-the-Park" every first Sunday of the month in St George's Park.
Visitors who prefer to do shopping in air-conditioned shopping malls have different options to choose from.
The Bridge Shopping and Entertainment Centre, extending over C.J. Langenhoven Drive, is reputed to be the second longest under one roof in South
Africa when associated with the adjoining Greenacres Shopping Centre. This up-market centre is one of the Metro's newer and more unusual centres,
hosting cinemas, hi-tech computerised games, banking facilities, a food court with restaurants, coffee shops and fast food eating establishments,
as well as trendy fashion malls.
The Greenacres side of the mall provides branches of large, well-known chain stores, smaller novelty and speciality shops, jewellery shops,
banking facilities, a food court with coffee shops, restaurants and fast food outlets, as well as many clothing boutiques.
The modern, air-conditioned Greenacres Entertainment Centre in Ring Road offers fun for the whole family,
including Tenpin Bowling and a "Kids Galore" section.
Known as the "Cosmopolitan Centre", Walmer Park Shopping and Entertainment Centre, located in Main Road, Walmer, is one of Port Elizabeth's
most up-market retail shopping complexes and is favoured amongst locals in the surrounding residential areas. The Centre offers shoppers
easy access to all the amenities within the complex, including the movie theatres, a variety of hardware, book, jewellery shops,
restaurants, coffee shops and fast-food outlets as well as clothing boutiques and branches of large well-known chain stores.
Pier 14 Shopping Centre, centrally located in 444 Govan Mbeki Avenue, North End, has been innovatively decorated along a "fun-nautical" theme,
even the elevator has been designed as a sub-marine! Pier 14 offers fashionable clothing boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants as well as novelty gift shops.
Most shops are open from 08h00 to 17h00 weekdays with extended shopping hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
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Entertainment