Get to know East London better (5)

In today’s post on getting to know East London better, we found a lighthouse and beautiful city hall. We also show you how the sky can change in just one day in this coastal city. And then we discover The Cow and Milk Shed – we didn’t get milk here, but we won’t complain about that!

Hood Point Lighthouse:

With East London being a coastal city, we knew there had to be the presence of a lighthouse. After a bit of research, we found out that the most famous lighthouse in East London is the Hood Point Lighthouse – one of only four Eastern Cape lighthouses. The other three lighthouses are near Port Alfred, Cape St Francis and Port Elizabeth (known as Gqeberha since 2019).

Hood Point Lighthouse

Hood Point Lighthouse, established in 1895

With over 85 shipwrecks along this coast and the harbour’s title of ‘Port of Wrecks’ it is no surprise that the Hood Point Lighthouse was erected in 1895.

This lighthouse is a national monument

The lighthouse is 19m (62 feet) high and is surrounded by pine trees almost as tall as the lighthouse itself. It is open to visitors, but unfortunately only during the week (our visit was on a Sunday).

The flashes of the lighthouse cover the coastline with a distance of 31 nautical miles

There is the fable that when the Hood light blinks in your direction, you should wink back – because you never know what mystery awaits you.

The lighthouse is next to the West Bank Golf course

East London City Hall:

Built in 1897 between Oxford Street and Argyle Street, the magnificent City Hall has a distinctive Victorian architectural style.

City Hall

As it was built during the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the massive clock tower was named the Victoria Tower in honour of Queen Victoria. At that time, a large part of Africa was colonised by the English and under royal rule.

Victoria Tower and entrance to the City Hall

In 2022, a fence was erected around the City Hall due to a spate of vandalism at some of the city’s properties. We fully understand why this was necessary, but taking a picture of this beautiful building in its entirety is now almost impossible. Fortunately, we were able to find a photo on the Internet that was taken of the City Hall before the fence was erected.

East London City Hall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

East London weather:

East London has a humid subtropical climate, with warm weather all year round … yes, even during the winter months. Time and time again we are amazed with the clouds that build up until they burst into a massive thunderstorm. Recently we woke up to thunder and lightning and as we ran out the front door we saw a striking double rainbow.

Double rainbow

For the rest of that day we had brilliant sunshine and towards sunset the clouds started to build up again.

Colourful clouds

We decided to drove the short distance to the sea and were surprised to see only one thick white cloud on the horizon.

Evening sky at Gonubie beach

We love the weather here in East London – just remind me of this statement next January when it’s 35°C/95°F with 80% humidity.

The Cow and Milk Shed:

We are still discovering more great restaurants here in East London. We were recently told by someone at our church about a very small, but lovely restaurant.

The Cow and Milk Shed

The Cow and Milk Shed is tucked away in a busy street – when we first visited, we drove past. It can get very busy at weekends, so it’s a good idea to book in advance to avoid any disappointment.

Their steak is grilled to perfection

As for the ‘milk’ part of this restaurant’s name … well, ours came in a bottle of red.

Spier Merlot (tasty ‘milk’)

It’s great to discover not only the big famous places in and around East London, but also the hidden little gems.