Take a break from the mainland…
…and ferry boat over to South African’s famous Robben Island, now hailed as a beacon of hope and forgiveness in the country’s colourful/rich history. Lasting approximately 3 ½ hours (including the ferry ride), guests board a bus from Murry’s Bay Harbor and tour the island with a guide, glimpsing symbols of South Africa’s apartheid-stained past, including a graveyard of lepers, the quarries, Robert Sobukwe’s house, army and navy bunkers and the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela was detained.
After the bus tour, enter the prison itself on foot with a real ex-prisoner to lease the way and fill your mind with images of what life was like incarcerated on the island. Among many things, this guide will show you cell 4664, where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life, inspiring thousands of prisoners a day and writing his book A Long Walk to Freedom.
As you stroll back to the harbour and catch the ferry to Cape Town, take time to ponder the meaning of freedom along the “freedom walkway” and if you’re lucky, catch the occasional whale breaching the water’s edge in the wake of the boat.
