Robben Island is not named after some past colonial master or explorer like a lot of public places in South Africa. It is Dutch for seal island. To get there, you take a 45-minute ferry to the island. You have to buy a 250-Rand (about $24) ticket that includes a tour of the prison facilities. You can stay on the island as long as you like but after the tour, there is not much else to see.
The first part of the tour is a bus tour that takes you around the island. The tour guide explains the different buildings and places of interest. The island has been used as a prison since the 17th century. Since then it has also been used as a leper colony and during the war, as a military installation.
Today the island is a World Heritage site and popular tourist attraction. It is famous because Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 of his 27 years behind bars for his opposition to apartheid.
The second part of our tour is through the prison quarters where our tour guide was a former political prisoner himself. We walked through the group cells as well as the single cells. Mandela was in one of those single cells.
The first part of the tour is a bus tour that takes you around the island. The tour guide explains the different buildings and places of interest. The island has been used as a prison since the 17th century. Since then it has also been used as a leper colony and during the war, as a military installation.
Today the island is a World Heritage site and popular tourist attraction. It is famous because Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 of his 27 years behind bars for his opposition to apartheid.
The second part of our tour is through the prison quarters where our tour guide was a former political prisoner himself. We walked through the group cells as well as the single cells. Mandela was in one of those single cells.
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| Ferry to Robben Island |
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| Robert Sobukwe House |
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| School |
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| A shrine (green dome) to one of the early Muslim prisoners |
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| Quarry where prisoners, including Mandela, worked |
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| A Group Cell, normally with bunk beds |
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| Prisoners slept on mats until the 70s' when mattresses were issued |
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| Guide explaining how the cells work |
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| Nelson Mandela's cell |
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| Hallway to the single cells |
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| Prisoners press alarm if they are very sick |
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| Outside view of prison facilities |
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| Mandela's prison shirt - Prisoner 466 in 1964 |
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| Gift Shop and Waiting Area before going back to V&A Waterfront |
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