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CAPE TOWN’S infamous Robben Island can be toured but it can never be truly experienced – and for that, today’s visitor should be boundlessly grateful. Since the last prisoner was released in 1996, the cells of Robben Island jail have stood empty. The rooms are stark – all bare walls, rusty bed frames and chipped iron bars. A stiff, salty breeze whipping off the surrounding sea does nothing to suggest life was anything but bleak for the prison’s former residents. The saga of Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela shall always hold an important place in the story of Robben Island. The renegade activist turned national president turned father of modern South Africa spent 18 of his 27 incarcerated years on Robben Island. He was in good company: other highprofile inmates included ANC leaders Kgalema Motlanthe (who also served as president of South Africa), Oliver Tambo and current president, Jacob Zuma. Robben Island is separated from Cape Town by seven kilometres of water. Tantalising as a swim may have been to some, the angry sea acted as a perfect barrier, and only one inmate ever made the crossing successfully. The year was 1660 and the escapee got away in a stolen rowboat. With Mandela’s death in December at the age of 95 and the almost immediate release of the movie adaptation of his autobiography, ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’, the great man’s spiritual presence is felt in almost all things and places in Cape Town today. Cape Town’s glorious Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is the jumping-off point to the UNESCO Heritage-listed Robben Island, with ferries running four times a day. Allow four hours for the tour and return ferry ride. The city of Cape Town is frequently cited as one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and for good reason. It certainly has one of the most striking vistas, with the ‘city bowl’ poised elegantly beneath the imposing backdrop of Table Mountain. Often visited by cloud, which drapes across its flat surface like fairy floss, the kilometre-high natural fortress has protected the city since its founding over 350 years ago.
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Cape Town offers an abundance of treats, tours, treks and tastings to keep its visitors amused. Abseiling and shark cage dives are popular activities among adrenaline junkies while those favouring a more urbane pace of life are lured by food and produce tours through the gorgeous Stellenbosch and Constantia regions – both within an easy drive of downtown. But Cape Town is by no means the only city worth visiting in South Africa. The ‘Madiba Trail’ naturally leads visitors across the vast country to Johannesburg, and an exploration of the once forbidden (for white folks) township of Soweto is a perfect bookend to the Robben Island tour. In Soweto, in an unassuming red ‘matchbox’ brick dwelling standing at 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West, is the so-called Mandela House. Pockmarked with bullet holes and scorched from firebombs, this house was the home of
Nelson Mandela from 1946 until the time of his arrest in 1962. Upon his release in 1990, he briefly returned here, stating famously in his autobiography that: “For me, number 8115 was the centre point of my world, the place marked with an X in my mental geography.” The South Africa of today is a far cry from the strife-torn, segregated country of Mandela’s adult years. This gateway to an entire continent is a bright ‘rainbow nation’ that hosts world-class sporting events and welcomes 10 million international guests every year. The nation’s murky apartheid past feels as distant and disconnected from modern life as the forsaken prison cells of Robben Island.
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Top 10 must sees TABLE MOUNTAIN
Thousands of people from across the world voted, and on November 11, 2011, Table Mountain was named among the New 7 Wonders of Nature. You can hike to the top of the mountain or get there in five minutes by cable car.
CAPE POINT
1. THE PRISON CELL ON ROBBEN ISLAND THAT WAS ONCE OCCUPIED BY NELSON MANDELA 2. UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE ROBBEN ISLAND IS A FAVOURITE TOURISTS’ DESTINATION 3. CAPE POINT 4. TWO OCEANS AQUARIUM
Cape Point is a spectacular, narrow finger of land covered in endemic fynbos (shrubland) and home to picturesque bays, beaches, rolling green hills and valleys. 2.
ROBBEN ISLAND
Once ‘home’ to some of South Africa’s most famous political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, Robben Island is one of the country’s most visited tourist attractions.
KIRSTENBOSCH NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDEN
Kirstenbosch is South Africa’s world-famous national botanical garden, set against the backdrop of Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak, and home to over 22 000 indigenous plants.
BOULDERS PENGUIN COLONY
There are few places in the world where you can get this close to a breeding colony of penguins, swim close to them in the sea and enjoy their private sandy beach.
THE CASTLE OF GOOD HOPE
The Castle of Good Hope – the oldest building in South Africa – was once a fort, but today functions as a showcase of the Cape’s early days.
BO-KAAP AND DE WATERKANT
Known for its brightly coloured houses and situated at the foot of Signal Hill, BoKaap is the spiritual home of the Cape’s Muslim community.
SIMON’S TOWN
This pretty coastal town is South Africa’s main naval base and offers delightful
Victorian buildings, quaint streets and walkways, along with a fascinating history.
TWO OCEANS AQUARIUM
With more than 3,000 marine creatures on view – including sharks, turtles and penguins – the Two Oceans Aquarium is one of the finest aquariums in the world.
V&A WATERFRONT
The V&A Waterfront is South Africa’s most visited destination, attracting millions of visitors each year to its winning combination of shops, restaurants, nightspots and museums. 4.