Robben Island Things to Do

So you set off to Robben Island, intent on seeing the prison cell of Mandela, but also remember that animals do inhabit the island as well...

During the bus tour, we stopped at several points just to look at ostriches (by the bay) and also stop for a turtle that was crossing the road!

Get your cameras ready as there also several birds flying around and waiting to be photograped. There's even a penguin sanctuary near the dock!

This island has also been reportedly colonized by about 4000 rabbits that became an infestation problem, affecting the penguins and rare birds.

Also, Robben Island actually has its own population of people. People really do live on the island and some of them work at cape Town, and so they ride the ferry everyday...

Mandela's prison cell on Robben island is No. 7 and has been repainted and looks very clean and small ---- you can peek through it and take picstures as people behind you are waiting to take a peerk as well....So you have to take your pics quick! You will have a shot of the blankets and bowls he used while there and the actual bucket he used as a toilet and that he had to empty every single day during his 18 years of imprisonment on this island (although his total incarceration time is 27 years).

Trivia: Mandela's prison number: 46664

Robben Island used to be a leper colony but changed into the notorious prison that it was in 1961. Anti-apartheid prisoners were placed here, including as mentioned, Nelson Mandela who later became the first President of the new democratic South Africa.

After the 2-3 hour bus/prison tour on Robben Island, you are brought back to the docks and told to wait for your boat --- You are not supposed to miss that boat, specially mine was the last one for the day!

But there is a nearby penguin sanctuary just near the docks, and so I ran towards it and spent about 10 minutes taking pictures and looking at the penguins. The penguins are hiding under the wooden bridge/ramp trail, and you can see them going about their daily routine. This might be an interesting tip for bird lovers...

I. on the other hand, love all living things -=- and besides I just didn't want to miss a penguin sanctuary too! Hehehe...

Now a World Heritage Site, Robben Island can be easily reached from cape Town by a 30 minute ferry ride. The Island is where black prisoners were incarcerated at during the Apartheid Era. The prisoners are now free and some of them have met again on the island, and they have decided not to see punishment for the guards --- but instead, "reconsciliation" was the goal for the good of the country.

Our tour guide was a prisoner himself and it was very interesting to hear his very own stories of life on the island. A bus tour awaits people on the island, and you can go and buy souvenirs and refresehments at the dock while waiting for your bus.

The picture I have here is that of a cave which is beside a digging pit, which according to our bus driver is where prisoners took a break from the intense sun while working during the day...

You have to set aside about 4 hours for this whole ferry experience. Ferries do leave at regular intervals throughout the day from the Clock Tower precint at the V&A Waterfront.

if you can, try to sit as close to the front of the bus as possible. the guide speaks from the front and it is alot easier to hear when your up-front. I was sitting in the back of the bus and it was hard to hear through the engine noise and road gravel! also easier to ask questions.

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Robben Island sits 12Kl off of the coast of Cape Town and served as a prison for 400 years. It's most famous political prisoner Nelson Mandela spent 18 years here, surviving cruelty and hardships and digging in the quarries that left him and many others partially blind from the glare of the stone.

The Island in it's time has served not only as a prison but also as a hospital and a military base.

Today a visit here is to touch on just exactly what these people experienced here. There are ex prisoners, some who served their time with Nelson Mandela, who take you on your tour of Robben Island, these people are able to give you a personal insight into the life and times spent on the island enprisoned.

You will be shown the place where once a lepper colony existed.

Take a look at the quarries and see the cell where Mandela served his time. How he excercised daily, studied and kept to a routine which kept his mind, spirit and body in shape well enough to become a superb President.

Proclaimed a UN World Heritage site in 1999, Robben Island is unmissable. Most likely you will have to endure crowds and being hustled around on a guided tour that at 2.5 hours is woefully too short – such is the price of the islands infamy. It’s likely to be truly swamped in the future as the island’s tourist infrastructure is developed to include accommodation and better roads. Still you must go to see this shrine to struggle.

Used as a prison from the early days of the VOC right up until the first years of majority rule, Robben Island’s most famous involuntary resident was Nelson Mandela. You will learn much of what happened to Mandela and other inmates since one will be leading your tour. The guides are happy to answer any questions you may have, and although some understandably remain bitter, as a whole this is the best demonstration of reconciliation you could hope to see in Cape Town.