One of the difficulties we have found is finding information on places outside where you are. Tourism places only have information on their areas. That means you are not always sure how to get to where you want to go, and can't find out what there is to see and do until you are there. So to find out about somewhere ahead is not easy. Sometimes I find maps or pamphlets left in backpackers and they help us. As we cannot always get online we can't do a google search and find route maps. The small road map book we have bought is good for an overall view of routes around the country but it doesn't have much detail and crossing large cities like East London was difficult. There aren't always street signs on every corner but after a few wrong turns we managed it.
Cintsa is on the Wild Coast but the area was formerly known as Transkei, the name of the apartheid-era homeland. Our maps never refer to these new names that have been created for the tourists so you are never sure where on the coast they are talking about.
The Buccaneers backpackers had been recommended to us by several people so we managed to get a cottage there that we had to share with another couple. We had a fully equipped kitchen, a clean bathroom and a room with a seaview. There was also a nice deck looking out to sea where we could catch up on some reading and dry laundry.
Buccaneers is special because it is 40% owned by the indigenous people, the Xhosa. They also support a local school and other organisations that help locals.
We were able to have a communal meal with about 20 other people and try the typical maize and bean staple. The complex covers a large area and includes a camp site as well as cottages up a sloping hill with views over the lagoon and bay. There are lots of things to do such as horse riding, learning to surf, kayaking, fishing and you can even have beauty treatments.
We met a couple from Cape Town who were staying one night as they were going to see their son in Mosambique who was doing a dive master course. They both worked at the only nuclear plant in South Africa and were keen motorbike riders belonging to a motorcycle club in Cape Town. It was refreshing to meet couples closer to our age rather than the under 25s.
We shared our cottage with Aitor from Majorca, Spain and Amy a Brit. They were both nursing in Sydney and had been granted permanent residency. Both had been to NZ and were keen to go back during the World Cup rugby so we hope to be able to catch up with them again. It is surprising the number of people who want to go to the rugby next year and we hope they don't all turn up at our place on the same day.
We had a nice relaxing time at the beach and enjoyed the warmer weather at last.
