Day two in Cape Town started with a small breakfast at the V&A Waterfront before the boat trip to Robben Island for our Robben Island Tour.
Tips for Travelers to Cape Town – Book your tickets online then you do not need to stand in any queues or be disappointed if the boat is full. The only problem with Robben island is you book a particular date and time so if the weather turns then you will have to change your ticket which has an admin fee.
We finished our breakfast 15 minutes before the boat was due to leave and then when we got to the bridge that goes over the canal to the marina and dry dock the bridge was closed as a boat was passing by and we then had to run to get onto the boat. In the rush we actually went the wrong way and had to go back to be searched :-). We got onto the boat, Susan Kruger, and decided to go downstairs as we thought the sway would be less, as we got into the boat we realized that the boat was built in the 70’s and had not been updated since.
Tips for travelers to Cape Town – When going to Robben Island make sure you book you tickets on Sikhululekile, which name translates to ‘We are now free’, and not Susan Kruger as Susan is a little old and chugs along slowly with much smoke.
While chugging out of Table Bay I was able to step out onto the back of the boat that was a little scary and took a snap of Cape Town from the Bay.
The trip to the island was almost long enough to use the barf bags and we were thus very happy when the boat made its way into the harbour on Robben Island and we could get off the boat. Once on the island a voice came from the speakers at the docks telling us to move to the busses move to the busses.
Once on the busses we started the drive around the island where the guide gave us a history of the Island – what it has been used for and showed us the different sights, buildings and interesting areas.
The Limestone quarry above was very interesting as the guide told us how the cave was used as a University, Post Office, Kitchen and Toilet. The rocks were extremely white and it was understandable how this damaged the prisoners eyes. The pile of Rocks was started by Nelson Mandela on returning to the island for a reunion and fellow freedom fighters continued to add rocks.
The busses then stopped at the prison and the prison tour by an ex inmate started. The prison tour ended with a view of Mandelas cell and then a short walk to freedom and the trip back to the mainland.
We found the tour of Robben island informative but very matter of fact, there was no time to let things sink in and there was very little time to browse by yourself. I would suggest going to Robben island as it is a world heritage site and is an interesting trip.
Recent Comments