It is a place where the land rises in rolling hills from the sea and appears to touch the sky which hangs, deep blue above a landscape of dry yellow grass, and thorny bushes.

It would be cruel to describe the Eastern Cape as desolate and barren, but at the same time this isolated rural province of South Africa is off the limits of most tourist maps, and rarely visited by the majority of South Africans.

Even the Xhosa people who live here have spent generations, trying to escape the place, migrating to city centres in search of work, abandoning their small fields and forgetting their tribal traditions.

And yet, the Eastern Cape holds a special place in the heart of the Xhosa, the people who have done so much to shape the destiny of post-apartheid South Africa.

First black college

Our journey began at the University of Fort Hare. Founded by Scottish missionaries in the nineteenth century, Fort Hare became South Africa's first "native college".

In 1916, it was upgraded to a university, and in the years that followed it became a crucible of African leadership.

Former Fort Hare student - the late Chris Hani

Those who have graduated from Fort Hare include the outgoing South African president, Nelson Mandela and Govan Mbeki, the father of the country's future president.

President Robert Mugabe also studied at Fort Hare and is one of the more generous benefactors among former alumnae.

Then there is the late Chris Hani of the South African Communist Party, the former ANC president in exile, Oliver Tambo, and Robert Sobukhwe, the founder of the Pan Africanist Congress.

The list goes on, underlining Fort Hare's position in the history of the black African struggle against colonial and apartheid oppression.

Now a last resort

Fort Hare suffered during the dark years of apartheid and was classified as a "blacks only" institution which was starved of resources and kept under the watchful eye of the authorities.

Alumni also include Nelson mandela and the late Oliver Tambo

It survived into the post-apartheid era, but far from flourishing in the new political climate, today it faces some of its greatest challenges since it was established more than a century ago.

Walking through the hallowed courtyards and corridors of the university today, it is difficult not to notice the emptiness and the absence of crowds of eager young students that one would imagine might fill its open spaces.

In the university buildings - some modern structures, others old - student numbers are dwindling.

It is a cruel irony of the post-apartheid era, that far from wishing to attend this great seat of black African learning, black South Africans are choosing instead to go to the formerly "whites-only" universities which have now opened their doors to undergraduates of all races.

Fort Hare is regarded as something of a last resort, its past glories forgotten by the youth of modern South Africa.

Debts and cuts

Fort Hare has found itself between a rock and a hard place: it is struggling to attract students, and without them, it is losing vital fees which might ensure its survival.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, undergraduate numbers have dropped from around 8,000 to just over 3,000 today.

Only the poorest of students who have no options to get university places anywhere else now come here, and of those, many find themselves unable to pay their tuition fees.

Fort Hare began its 1999 term in debt to the tune of more than $3m, the vast majority of this made up of unpaid fees from graduates who have since left with little intention to settle their bills.

It is an unsustainable situation and one which has demanded radical measures to ensure that Fort Hare is not closed down once and for all.

The new vice-chancellor, Professor Derrick Swartz has been elected with the sole task of turning the university's fortunes around.

There is no longer time for discussions about high intellectual ideals at Fort Hare, all the talk these days is about staff cuts and budgetary measures aimed at keeping the institution afloat.

Students hopeful

The effect on the students is palpable as many of them remain uncertain that they may ever complete their courses.

"It surprises me that the African National Congress hasn't done more to help this university," says Viwe Mogetse, a botany student who has charted the university's decline.

"So many of our leaders came here, and yet they are doing nothing to help Fort Hare. We had all sorts of promises after the 1994 election, but too few of them have been fulfilled, and education is one of the most important things in our society," Viwe Mogetse adds.

What is more surprising is that despite the ANC's patchy record on education, most undergraduates at Fort Hare say they still support the party and want it to continue in government.

"We should be proud of what the ANC has done for this country over the past five years," says Lisolomzi Sogayise, the Student Union President at Fort Hare.