Robben Island

Overview of the Robben Island Museum

From the 17th to the 20th centuries, Robben Island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment. Today, it is a World Heritage site, a poignant reminder to the newly democratic South Africa of the price for freedom.

Madiba, Nelson Mandela, was a political prisoner here, and he also wrote his book, "A long walk to freedom", here.

Review of the Robben Island Museum

It really broke my heart to imagine what the prisoners had to go through at Robben Island. The displays are extremely touching, and the tour guide, an ex-prisoner on the island, brings the cruel past alive in a sympathetic manner.

A bus ride across the island pointed out the landmarks, the quarries, where the prisoners worked with only their hands, the leper graveyard where people with leprosy from the mainland were buried, and the church and school.

We were allowed a walk through the prison cell block itself, and visited Nelson Mandela's cell, and the "garden" where he worked and wrote his book.

On our boat trip back to the Cape Town harbor, the visitors where quite, reflecting on what they had seen and heard.

If you are in Cape Town, do not miss this truly awe inspiring tour.