Robben Island

Description

Robben Island is an absolute must-see attraction for every tourist to Cape Town. The 580ha oval-shaped island was once home to the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, spent many of his 27 years of imprisonment. Upon Nelson Mandela's historic release in 1990, a crowd of 250,000 people gathered at the  Grand Parade outside Cape Town City Hall to hear him speak. Today, Robben Island is preserved as a National Monument and a World Heritage Site in memory of Nelson Mandela and the struggle against oppression.

Access to Robben Island

One can book the official tour of this island at the Clock Tower Precinct situated near V & A Waterfront. This tour will take visitors on a  12km boat trip from Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island and back again.  Once on the island, a tourbus takes visitors on a tour of this iconic place where much of the struggle against apartheid took place. The tour lasts a total of 3 ½ hours.

Things to see on Robben Island

The island bus tour is, of course, largely focused on the many tiny cells (including Mandela's) that make up Robben Island's maximum security prison, the lime quarry where the prisoners worked, Robert Sobukwe's prison house and other historical points of interest. There is also the opportunity to talk with ex-political prisoners many of whom were imprisoned on the island.

Natural diversity on Robben Island

Robben Island is extraordinarily rich in flora and fauna with over 130 species of birds nesting here, including some endemic and rare species. The island is also know for its abundance of wild flowers, including the Arum lilies.

Before Robben Island was a prison

Before Robben Island became a maximum security prison it was famed for its beautifully veined slate that features highly in many of the colonist's first buildings in Cape Town, was used as a leper colony and later a penal colony.Over the years, Robben Island was used as a leper colony, a penal colony, and for strategic defense of Cape Town during World War 2. The island also holds a kramat (a Muslim burial ground for holy men) which has the tombs of Princes of Ternate and Madura.