East London is the only river port in South Africa, and the Buffalo River that runs through it has been the heart of the city since the nineteenth century. It began as a landing point for British troops during the frontier wars, grew into a harbour town, and today has nearly half a million people, a busy port, and a motor industry, with a large Mercedes-Benz plant. The city sits on the Indian Ocean coast of the Eastern Cape, with long, empty beaches such as Nahoon and Orient on its doorstep, and surf that draws bodyboarders and surfers all year.
The story that everyone tells is the coelacanth. In December 1938, a young museum curator named Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer spotted a strange blue fish on the deck of a fishing trawler that had come into the harbour, and recognised it as something extraordinary. It turned out to be a coelacanth, a species thought to have died out with the dinosaurs, and her find astonished the scientific world. The East London Museum still tells the story, and it also holds the only intact dodo egg in the world, a quirky but true piece of trivia.
For motorcyclists, East London is the gateway to the Wild Coast. The N2 runs north-east through the former Transkei in long, rolling sections, with the sea always somewhere to the east, and side roads wander down to river mouths and small settlements. Livestock on the road is the main hazard, cattle, goats, pigs and dogs wander across freely, and villages have speed bumps that appear without warning. Summer is humid, with sudden storms, and winter is mild and dry, so it is a year-round destination, though the fierce south-westerly wind can be strong.
The city has every kind of service, with fuel stations on all the main roads, motorcycle dealers, banks, and a wide choice of food, from seafood on the waterfront to curries and braais. Spend an evening on the beachfront, where the sea breeze takes the edge off the heat, and check your bike over before heading into the quieter country beyond, where the distances between towns grow longer.