Buccaneers began as a pretty simple establishment built upon little more than a reinforced sand dune at a village called Cintsa, 25 km north of the bustling city of East London. It was originally a series of family cottages built above a river mouth on the Indian Ocean. When apartheid ended and South Africa became a democracy in 1994 there was a degree of hysteria among affluent whites based upon a perception that their wealth and security would inevitably erode. This proved to be disasterous for tourism, particularly in areas such as this which are predominantly black; people stopped coming and the business was in trouble.
One of the reason that Buccaneers has done so well as a backpackers is that the quality of the room is very high, mostly ensuite cottages overlooking the mouth of the river and the sea. The view from our little deck was wonderful - a great place to relax and just watch the waves roll in. 
Buccanneers is also famous on the South African backpackers' scene because of the range of experiences it offers. Pay-as-you-go activities include surfing school, horseback riding, cliff-climbing, guided hikes, quad biking, climbing wall, and excursions into a local game park. There is also a weekly trip to a rural school project that the Prices help to sponsor. Daily activities that are free are canoeing on the river and an afternoon fun group event such as a swimming pool game or volleyball...all of which come with complimentary wine for each participant! 
Cintsa marks the beginning of a new phase in our trip as we begin to move north through the province known as East Cape, situated in the south-east of the country. A key feature of the eastern cape is the largely undeveloped region of rolling hills, lush forest and seemingly endless beaches known as the Wild Coast. The coastline is notorious for its raging surf, strong undertow, and treacherous offshore rocks which have claimed many victims. The Wild Coast is billed as South Africa's best-kept secret eventhough it extends for some two hundred kilometres along the Indian Ocean. No coastal road exists: isolated sea-side communities are located at the termination of long and winding gravel roads. The comfortable Mediterranean climate of the southern coast has turned quite humid and a few degrees warmer. 
The sub-tropical climate lends itself to new varieties of flora. We took great delight in the purple flowering vines that fringed many of the sand dunes along the beach, and the bird-of-paradise that grew abundantly throughout the property.
Cintsa is about a thirty minute drive past East London, one of South Africa's largest cities. We are now in an area that fell under British control during the colonial era. The Boers (farmers of Dutch descent) had much earlier spread eastward from Cape Town then began to head north in search of new lands to inhabit. One of the reasons that they had not progressed much past the Fish River was that the land was extensively occupied by the Xhosa, one of the two main black nations of people living in South Africa.
The Xhosa live mostly in the Transkei, an area of land that was designated as one of the Black Homelands during the apartheid era. Blacks were confined to what the government perceived to be their ancestral territory and were not permitted to leave without a pass...which was usually only granted in order to come and work for the white people when needed. Despite the fact that South Africa's first two presidents (Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela) are both from the Transkei, it is one of the poorest areas in South Africa. 
The discrepancies between the whites and blacks living in South Africa are monumental and well-documented. On the edge of every town and city are the townships, collections of very basic housing that by western standards are deplorable. The picture below shows a typical house for the millions of blacks living in townships throughout the country. Such a dwelling must sometimes accommodate more than one family - as many as fifteen people! 
Nancy and I are both looking forward to having more contact with the black people of South Africa as we move north along the east coast. It was a real pleasure to meet Omnatee and Melanie, two of the receptionists at Buccaneers. Both women were very friendly, helpful, enthusiastic, and very articulate. 
One of the highlights of our stay in Cintsa was our impromptu visit to the Inkwenkwezi Nature Reserve where we experienced our very first "elephant interaction" session! The owners of this private reserve first bought a bit of land in the Cintsa area as a cattle farm. Planning ahead for retirement, they slowly added land and animals and now own 10,000 sq. hectares with which to help protect wildlife and at the same time, to educate the public.
Two young bull elephants (age 9 & 16) had been rescued from a cull in Kruger Park and transported to Inkwenkwezi to be the first elephants in this private reserve. It has become necessary to cull whole elephant herd groups as the elephant population increases and the competition for food wreaks its havoc on the natural environment in Kruger. A few years ago there were 120 big trees per sq. km in the national park. Now only 5 per sq. km remain! We watched as the grooms led the two beautiful bulls in from the jungle. Each offered his greeting with a loud trunk trumpet! 
We were invited to feed the gentle giants a handful of prepared pellets (Elly treats!), first through their trunks and then by placing our hands directly into their mouths! The animals love the attention and enjoy having their tongues rubbed.
Then, providing us with an opportunity to get even more "up close and personal", the younger bull got down on the ground, enabling us to stroke its back and ears! AHHHHHH!
Here's some interesting elephant trivia to leave you with. Elephants: live up to 70 year of age; have poor eyesight but excellent hearing. They can communicate messages (to other elephants 8 km away) by stomping their feet. The elephants are right or left tusk dominant and consume 250 kg of vegetation daily; can take 8 litres of water into their trunk at a time; cannot breathe through their mouth. Like humans, they do have food preferences and DO have an incredible power of memory. We heard stories of elephants remembering a trainer and specific commands after 16 years of separation! I can't speak for the elephants but I know this was one amazing experience that I will NEVER FORGET!
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