The suburb of Linkside lies in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Linkside is bounded by two green belts; the Port Elizabeth Golf Club to the north and a valley cut into the landscape by the Bakens River in the south. It’s a quiet neighbourhood, however, it’s only minutes away from the beaches and within walking distance of the city centre.
Port Elizabeth (P. E. to the locals) is the largest coastal town in the region and is located halfway between Cape Town and Durban. The city experiences more sunshine than any other city and has some of the finest beaches and a warm inviting sea, ideal for water sports enthusiasts.
In the 1500s Portuguese mariners who stopped here named the area Baía de Lagoa or Bay of the Lagoon, now known as Algoa Bay.
For business travellers, Linkside is a destination of choice, due to its close proximity to the airport and city centre.
Top 8 reasons to visit Linkside
1. You could set off early to spend the day driving the 180000ha Addo Elephant Park, a reserve proclaimed in 1931 to save the elephant. Today the reserve has a healthy population of elephants along with lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo and hippo.
2. Port Elizabeth has 3 Blue Flag appointed beaches, Humewood, Hobie and Kings Beach. The most popular is Kings Beach, a 1.6km stretch of safe swimming and surfing coastline with super tube and other beachfront attractions.
3. Enjoy a round of golf at the scenic Port Elizabeth Golf Club next door to Linkside.
4. The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World is a stunning complex thathas something for the entire family. Aside from the casino, the resort has movie theatres, a go-kart track, ten pin bowling and mini golf. The venue has a food court and several formal restaurants and bars.
5. Bayworld is a unique theme and education centre that includes a natural and cultural history museum, snake park and oceanarium. Located on the beachfront, the reasonable entry fee ensures that families can enjoy the centre. Daily penguin and seal feedings and snake interactions occur throughout the day’s program.
6. There is an exciting 12kms mountain bike trail that runs along parts of the Bakens River.
7. The world famous surfing hotspot Jeffrey’s Bay, an hour’s drive from Linkside, is believed to have the world’s best (and longest) right hand point break.
8. You could walk the 9kms trail at Cape Recife Nature Reserve, passing the lighthouse, a WWII military observation post and bird hide. The beaches and dunes here are pristine and the rock pools are the home to many and varied sea creatures.
Transport
The Port Elizabeth International Airport is 7 minutes away from Linkside. Several car rental agencies are based in Port Elizabeth and at the airport, or you could order a rental online. Many taxi companies operate in Port Elizabeth. The city-managed bus service runs regularly throughout the city and in outlying suburbs.
Did you know?
The Campanile Memorial in Port Elizabeth was erected to commemorate the arrival of the 1820 settlers, a group of English citizens encouraged by the British Government to settle here and defend its eastern frontier against the Xhosa people.
The naming of the Linkside suburb would be appropriate if the golf course alongside were a links course, however, this is not the case; the Port Elizabeth Golf Club is a parkland course.
