“Port St. Johns (or Port Saint Johns) is a town of about 6,500 people on the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River, 220 kilometres (140 mi) northeast of East London and 70 kilometres (40 mi) east of Mthatha.

Port St. Johns is situated on the Wild Coast, a coastline of about 270 km long, boasting some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the country. It lies at the mouth of the Mzimvubu River, a river flowing through an impressive gorge known as the “Gates of St John” into an estuary located on the Indian Ocean. On both sides of the river ravine are high sandstone mountain peaks: Mount Thesiger (342 meter above sea level) andMount Sullivan (304 meter), named after two British Military officers.

It is the main settlement in the Port St. Johns Local Municipality which forms part of the O.R. Tambo District Municipality in Pondoland of the former Transkei. According to the 2011 census it had a population of 6,441, of whom 90% where Xhosa-speaking.^[2]

The climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa).

This town is thought to have been named after a Portuguese ship (the São João),^[6] which was actually wrecked at Port Edward.^[7] Later seafarers mistakenly identified the mouth of the Umzimvubu River as the site of this wreck.^[6]

The town was established in the 1880s by the British, after negotiations with local Pondo chiefs for rights to the banks of the river and adjacent territories.^[6] The river mouth was used as a port, however this activity was abandoned in the 1940s due to siltation, which caused the river to become too shallow for vessels.” ~ Wikipedia