One of the beautiful surfboard benches at Buffalo Bay Picture by Rose Bilbrough

A trip to Buffalo Bay has always been well worth it, but now this tiny little section of our community has even more to complement its backdrop of blue waters and crashing waves – this thanks to the initiative launched by Visit Knysna and the Knysna Art Society, and grabbed with both hands by the Buffalo Bay residents, under the leadership of their Ratepayers Chair Vera Carstens.
The beachfront has undergone a complete make-over, with a quirky twist that pushes the ‘Buffs’ personality that Garden Route locals know and love.
The original plan for Buffalo Bay was to install a series of surfboards painted by local artists to create a “boardwalk”, but as news of the project reached Buffs’ townsfolk, they climbed on board in a big way and the project snowballed wonderfully.
With true community spirit, funds for more materials were raised, and soon, all the old benches and five cement braais were repaired and revamped by a “Blitz” team of ladies with seemingly endless enthusiasm (and a whole lot of mosaics). Now each of the braais has its own unique character, artistically stylised surfboards have been fixed to the backs of the benches, and local cartoonist Pieter Kruger has created a giant wave mural on the ablutions block.
The rail bridge on the road to Buffs is also being refreshed.
“It has been such a wonderful example of community teamwork,” reflects Knysna Art Society, Chair Helena Gerber.