Dori Kaufman started planning what she hoped would be a trip of a lifetime – an African safari – nine months in advance. She worked with a travel agent well-versed in safaris to craft the perfect itinerary for her family.

“I was really excited, until about one month prior to leaving,” said Kaufman, who, with husband Charles, owns San Diego's Bread & Cie bakery. “Then I looked at a map and saw that one place we were staying in Zambia was right across the river from Zimbabwe.”

The Eastern Cape is the birthplace of the iconic Nelson Mandela, former black President of South Africa. The Xhosa speaking peoples, from whom Mandela is descended, comprise most of the population and inhabit predominantly the pristine, beautiful eastern region of the former Transkei.

As they have for centuries, many communities still live in round; thatched dwellings constructed of clay and straw, and continue to practice their age-old traditions and customs.