To set the scene, Port Elizabeth, or PE as it is affectionately called, is set in Algoa Bay, on the Southern coast of South Africa, at 33°57*29*S, 25°36*00*E. With its temperate climate, relaxed lifestyle and wonderful unspoilt beaches, it is a popular tourist and watersport destination. It is a big city with a small town feel, and is aptly nicknamed “the Friendly City”. If you spend more than 20 minutes to get across town, we call it a bad traffic jam!
 
It is also one of the major sea ports in South Africa, set midway between Cape Town in the west and Durban in the east, and is also an important transport hub linking Southern Africa with other national and international destinations.

PE was founded in 1820 by the British Colonial Government, and named after Elizabeth Donkin, the late wife of Sir Rufane Donkin, who arrived here to oversee the settlement of the embryo town.
 
In 2001, the area that encompasses the towns of Port Elizabeth, Despatch and Uitenhage was incorporated into the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality, to honour our first President since true democracy.
 
The metro has a population of about 1.5 million, and covers 1 845 square kilometers, so in terms of population it is South Africa's fifth largest city and in terms of area it is the second largest.

Port Elizabeth is considered the economic capital of the region, mainly as an important centre for the automobile industry, although the legislative capital is inland at Bisho.