At the south easter cost of South Africa is one of the most beautiful towns in the
country and a bay with an ocean shining like a blue diamond, hidden behind a dune.
A Nemeth/Star Productions ORIGINAL
This is Orbit Mzansi in Port Elizabeth and at Sardinia Bay.
Orbit Mzansi: Travel - S01E01 - Port Elizabeth & Sardinia Bay
Speaker: Jennifer Sarah Boone
"Mama Africa" performed by Petite Viking
Created by Sven Nemeth & Maggie Kwena Moabelo
Written by Sven Nemeth & Lebona Teresia Moabelo Directed by Sven Nemeth
Named eBhayi in Xhosa language, PE in short term
and known to the world as the beautiful Port Elizabeth
stretching 16 kilometers along Algoa Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province.
It’s the home of one of the major seaports in the country and the
southernmost largest city on the continent, farther south than Cape Town.
PE was founded in 1820 by the Cape Colony government with about
4,000 British colonists to strengthen the border to the Xhosa land.
Xhosa people already lived in the area since around 2,000 years.
The first Hunters and gatherers lived in the area 10,000 years ago.
Today PE has a population of over 312,000 people and is
part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
Located between two climate zones, PE offers dry
winter season and not to hot but windy summer season.
A group of 30 volunteers led by Raymond Mhlaba were one of the first protesters against
the apartheid government in July 1952 as they walked to the New Brighton Civic Centre.
In the mid-1980s the protests in the townships of
Port Elizabeth raised demanding the integration
of public institutions, the removal of troops, and the end of workplace discrimination.
Since 2001 PE is part of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality.
In February 2021, several cities have been renamed as part of a Government
Program to transform and decolonized the South Africa's Heritage landscape.
Port Elizabeth was renamed to Gqeberha.
Professional and hobby sportsman well-known PE for its
annual Ironman triathlon and the Herald Cycle Tour.
Angles around the world come to PE for the Tuna classic deep-sea competition.
Around 24,000 students’ study at the Nelson Mandela University.
The city is connected to all major cities via the N2 highway, the Intercity bus system,
a local metro rail, the Shosholoza Meryl, air plane and with Algoa Bay Harbour via sea.
Algol Bay is still one of the most important economic hubs for the region.
As the Garden route to Cape Town passes PE, it brings
yearly a significant number of tourists to the town.
Route 67 is a walking trail with 67 artworks symbolizing the
67 years Nelson Mandela dedicated to the freedom of South Africa.
The most people in PE are speaking Afrikaans, English and IsiXhosa.
But as all through South Africa all of the 11 official
languages of the country are represented in PE.
PE has a few rivers as Baakens River is the most prominent.
Like Cape Town and many other cities, PE has to
fight with constantly returning devastating drought.
Located at the south-eastern part of the Port Elizabeth Airport is
a hanger that homes one part of the South African Air Force Museum.
As the museum doesn’t charge an entrance fee it is
fully depending on donations of the few visitors it has.
The other two parts of the museum are located in
Swartkop outside Pretoria and Yesterplaat in Cape Town.
The hanger was already used as Air Gunnery Training Centre
during the Joint Air Training Scheme in Word War II.
Here we you can see the Aerospatiale SA330L Puma, a helicopter with 3
seats and space for 16 more people and an empty weight of 3.6 tones.
Also, an Aermacchi AM 3C Basbak and a Jorg IV Skimmerfoil are in the hanger.
This plane is part of the Airspeed Oxford restoration program.
Also, a number of North American Harvard are undergoing restoration here.
This travel back in history worth’s the way to the museum and we can only recommend it.
Our planet is covered with places more beautiful than we could ever imagine.
Sardinia Bay is one of these places, hidden behind a huge dune.
The Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area,
a clearly defined area of long-term conservation of nature,
was established in 1990 and is under the responsibility of the national government.
The Marine Protected Area homes 4 major habitats in the sea with different nature of
substrate that is important for the different
organism and animals living in the sea area.
Many habitats are also mixed habitats.
It’s time to go under water to see the rocky
shores and reefs of Sardinia Bay and some fish.
But even if you can’t see it, life is everywhere here.
Like red bait pods, which are usually encrusted with
sponges, ascidians, bryozoans, anemones, and gastropods,
and abalone, which are usually covered by similar
seaweeds to those found on the surrounding rocks.
Other species and organism can be found in the Kelp forests,
a variation of rocky reefs, and the sandy beaches and bottoms.
Poaching of Abalone and seaweeds as well as illegal commercial and recreational
fishing are the major threat to the habitats and has already impacted stocks.
Enjoy the beautiful world of Sardinia Bay.
In Memory of Maggie Kwena Moabelo (1993-2022)
This movie was not financially supported by any company or trademark who may was shown in this movie.
Some Original Content filmed for this production is licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
This Movie is licensed under Creative Commons Share-A-Like 4.0 (CC-BY-SA 4.0)
subtitles translated by Sven Nemeth, ChatGPT, Google Translate, Maryam Vazirnia.