Robben Island is a small flat island most [in]famous for the prison that operated there from the 1650’s until 1996. Political prisoners and opponents of apartheid were often sent here including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu and conditions were harsh. The prison is now a museum and it takes around half an hour to get there by boat from from Nelson Mandela Gateway on the Waterfront. Tickets can be purchased online in advance and this may be advisable in peak season. The guided tour takes around 4 hours including the time on the boat. On reaching the island there are coaches awaiting to take you to various points of interest around the prison including the lepers graveyard and the lime quarry where the prisoners did hard labour [forced and pointless].
The coach then continues on to the 19th century lighthouse [where you may also see penguins] and on to the Moturu Kramat [Muslim shrine] which was built in 1669 to commemorate the Prince of Madura, an iman who was exiled and died here in 1754. The coach then passes where Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress was held in solitary confinement for six years, [see photo below on the right].
Our tour guide on the coach was Yasein Mohamed who was very informative and entertaining with a wicked sense of humour. He was involved in the anti-apartheid movement but fortunately not an inmate of the prison. [photo of me shaking his hand below].
At the prison entrance we were handed over to a former inmate who took over from Yasein and he was willing to answer questions from our group. He served five years in the prison. To hear his recollections about life in the prison made the whole experience all the more shocking. We had time to wander around one of the huts and see the living quarters as well as Nelson Mandela’s cell.
Finally we walked back to the dock to board our boat back to Cape Town as the sun set. A good, albeit a thought-provoking, day.
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