There are seaside villages like Arniston and Paternoster on the West Coast of our country which have been there forever.
They don’t grow or change in character, they are not being swallowed up by developments, high-rise buildings and Joburg-at-the-sea complexes.
They are old, steeped in the history of the indigenous people, and respected as fishing villages, off-the-beaten track holiday destinations.
They comprise mostly fisherman’s cottages and holiday homes, so out of season many homes stand empty.
Then there is our very own Buffalo Bay on the Garden Route.
It’s either called Buffalo Bay or Buffelsbaai depending on the vacillating signage and preference of English or Afrikaans. To all it’s known as Buffs.
Tucked between Knysna and Sedgefield — and cradled inside the protected folds of the Goukamma Marine and Coastal Reserve — this little beach hamlet may well be the simplest little Knysna suburb, one road in and the same one road out.
There are houses in the actual village in a small dense area, then there are some that are placed on the cliffs above the beach, some are a stone’s throw from the water.
What never ceases to fascinate me is how these homes range from grand and modern affairs with lots of glass and chrome to the simplest small brick dwellings showing their age.
Many years ago, we saw a for-sale sign on a tiny rundown house on a postage-stamp size property.
We phoned in great excitement to find out how much it was, and the property was R6m though the agent suggested we offer R6.2m to get a foot in the door.
There was already a bidding war on it. Talk about a balloon being popped!
Some Buffalo Bay homes are discreetly placed on the dunes with forever views of the ocean (Elaine King)
There are no recent statistics, but in 2011 Statistics South Africa did a survey and there were only 71 people who called Buffelsbaai, Buffalo Bay, their permanent home.
In winter, the whole population could fit onto the beach restaurant’s terrace while in the summer, and especially over Christmas holidays, the village pumps with owners who come to spend their annual holiday at their beach house.
And locals flock to the area to enjoy what is one of the best beaches in the greater Garden Route area.
Buffalo Bay is one of the most tightly held coastal communities in the country.
With only about 200 erven in total, listings are limited and properties seldom change hands.
When they do, they command serious attention. There is no available land for building, no high-rise ambitions, no developments that could creep in here.
At the time I wrote this, there seem to be less than a handful of properties for sale and they sell so fast, that this information could be outdated tomorrow.
An agent tells me that asking prices currently start at around R14m for a four-bedroom home with open-plan living and sea glimpses, that means no full sea view.
Spacious family homes in prime positions fetch around R17.5m.
There is presently a beachfront property with seven bedrooms and expansive decks for sale for R25m, but I’m told a complete and extensive renovation is required.
Premium oceanfront houses, especially those within about 50 metres of the water’s edge, are described as legacy properties.
Solidly built, mostly not fancy, rather full of character, and occupying irreplaceable footprints, they offer something that cannot be recreated today.
Prices here rival some of the most sought-after coastal addresses in SA like Camp’s Bay.
What exists and has for decades will not change. Time stands still here in Buffalo Bay.
A day under an umbrella on the Buffalo Bay beach is the closest most people come to staying here (Elaine King)
Many houses in the village carry names rather than numbers, as if they were characters in a family story like Vlokkies, Verkyker, Rinkink, Panorama 18, OliKoloni and Vitamin Sea.
When the owners aren’t in residence, many of these homes are rented out for thousands of rand a night, especially in season.
There is a single convenience store that is really useful if you are on holiday and need suntan cream, a fishing net and bucket for the children or perhaps an ice-cream or a sun hat.
There is the one restaurant with a deck perched looking straight at the sea and it offers a simple menu with pizzas, this and that, but nothing fancy.
You can sit in your cozzie, and nobody would bat an eyelid.
There is also a very rustic restaurant on the Wildside which serves fish and chips from wooden benches plonked in the sand.
In winter it’s quiet here, the homes are deserted a bit like a ghost town and locals visit to walk their dogs on the endless beach.
Watch out for the stall that sells the best honey in the area and fresh veg (Elaine King)
In summer, however, this peaceful suburb hums and changes personality.
This spot is utopia for families who want a full-on beach day.
The beach parking gets full and residents fume because suddenly they are charged a nominal parking fee, if they can even find a parking space.
The area becomes a haven for barefoot children dragging boogie boards across hot tar.
Umbrellas, fishing nets, buckets and snorkelling gear are marched down to the sand.
Those ghastly tent-like things are erected by beachgoers who plan on staying for the whole day.
The main beach offers some of the best swimming and gentle surf to practise boogie boarding.
Surfers, especially beginners and intermediates, love the forgiving breaks.
When conditions are calm, and the water warm enough in the summer, swimmers linger in the water.
For a perfect day, here this is my formula: Walk the Buffalo Bay trail before you hit the water.
Watch out for the stall that sells the best honey in the area and fresh veg (Elaine King)
It’s about 6km, you will smell the fynbos and gets ocean views over the dunes. It starts opposite the Wildside carpark.
If you haven’t packed a picnic there is a stall on the left hand side of the road as you turn off onto the road from the N2 which bakes fresh goodies every day.
It also has a very respectable curio shopping section, not that one goes to the beach to shop.
The chicken pies make the perfect lunch and the chunk of carrot cake here is as good as it gets.
Only locals know the secret I am going to share with you now, but I figure there is always enough stock for us to share.
On the way out of Buffalo Bay on the left hand side is a farm stall with no name.
There is a sign that says “hout and veggies” that you can easily miss if you aren’t looking for it.
At this farm stall which is on a farm (for sale if you have R18m) fresh eggs from real free roaming chickens are collected.
It sells the best honey which changes depending on whether the bees have been into fynbos or lucerne.
I am crazy about vegetables and here you will find them fresh from the ground that day with sand still on them.
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