Our final full day in Cape Town was the day the group chose to split up. Some of us chose to visit Robben Island and a few stayed back to enjoy the spa at the Westin for a bit of relaxation.
Another filling breakfast at the Westin started our day and we wandered down to the waterfront afterward to do some shopping and exploring. One of my favorite places on the waterfront was the Food Market, which was not particularly desirable right after a filling breakfast, but is a location with lots of food and drink stalls if you want a snack.
We purchased our tickets to Robben Island online, which included ferry transportation and guided tour of the island — the overall experience took four hours in total.
The ferry departed just after 1 p.m., and 30 minutes later we arrived on Robben Island where the ferry load was dispatched into three separate buses each with a guide. The tour, split into two parts would be 90 minutes on a full-size bus exploring the island and then 60 minutes walking through the cellblocks and prison cells.
The bus tour served as a mechanism for providing an overview of the island layout and how staff and prisoners used the resources. At one point in the 19th century, Robben Island was used as a leper colony, but for most of its time, starting in the 17th century, it was used as a political prison. The bus tour was informative, but not particularly enjoyable due to the density with which people were packed and a rushed schedule.
With the bus tour complete we were dropped off at the entrance to one of the cell blocks where our next guide met us. Our guide, a former prisoner on Robben Island, provided an overview of the cell blocks, but then continued the tour by sharing his personal experiences.
We learned about sleeping and general health conditions in the prison, along with how the guards and staff would listen in on prisoner conversations. During its time of operation, inmates in the prison slept on the ground, cushioned by a mat or blanket. Regardless of the season, they wore shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals. Eventually, they were upgraded to bunk-bed-style accommodations and provided long-sleeve shirts and pants through the assistance of the Red Cross.
The prison didn’t remind me of Alcatraz or Eastern State Penitentiary, which were dark, dank and full of gigantic cobblestone walls. Rather, the buildings and cells looked more of a school built in the 1950s that had never been renovated, with its long hallways, gang showers, painted cinderblocks and high-up windows. I didn’t ask about the last time the prison was refurbished, but I imagined it would have been in worse shape than it was.
I enjoyed the time with our guide at the prison and hearing his personal story will leave a lasting memory—I only wish we had more of the time on the island spent with him.
Overall I can’t say I was satisfied with the tour. Part of it was excellent but the rest left me wanting more in smaller group settings — I’d rather pay a premium for a more intimate tour. For anyone looking to visit I would set your expectations appropriately but maybe I was just hoping for a different experience.
With our tour complete we ventured back to the mainland on the ferry and arrived at 4:30 p.m. — from there we walked the mile back to our hotel and relaxed before heading out to dinner.
For our last night, we had our final dinner on the waterfront at Haiku, an Asian tapas-style restaurant. Sushi, noodles, dim sum, and soups filled our plates as we fed ourselves for two hours straight. Our photo tour guide, Jamie, recommended this place as a good hangout because of its great location and reasonable prices.
There are no shortages of excellent restaurants in Cape Town and we tried to diversify a bit, even if we did focus most of our time on the waterfront — the views were great and the energy was invigorating.
Once we left Cape Town we headed out to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek to visit wine country. Before we made it there we took another road trip to visit more penguins in Betty’s Bay—more on that coming in the next post.
Have you been to Cape Town before? If you have, please share some of your experiences with others in the comments!
[Images via Howie Rappaport, Lead Image via Getty]
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