Robben Island was used as a prison off and on since the mid 17th century. In 1961 South Africa began to use the prison to detain political prisoners, including three men who would later become president of South Africa. The last political prisoners left Robben Island in 1991 and the prison closed in 1996.
Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 prison years on Robben Island. His cell has been preserved in its original state.
One aspect of the tour that made it more interesting is that all of the tour guides on the island were former inmates and could describe from first hand experience what life was like as a political prisoner on Robben Island.
Colorful homes line the street in the Bo-Kaap area of Cape Town. It was definitely a unique neighborhood. Our drive through the city also brought us past the parliament building and the court house.
To get an overview of the city of Cape Town, we went to the cable car station at the base of Table Mountain. The views were spectacular.
Table mountain overlook gave us a wonderful view of the iconic Table Mountain, a two mile long plateau with magnificent cliffs that forms the backdrop for Cape Town. We were also able to see the peaks of the Twelve Apostles, which extend outward from Table Mountain, and Lion's Head peak.
The overlook is a popular spot for people to para sail and we saw many people lined up ready to make the jump.
As we headed south, we left the city and traveled through the countryside to get to The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. Road signs warned of baboons who did indeed appear in the road. At the tip of the cape, we took a photo at the south-western most point on the African continent.
Birdlife was abundant in the park. We enjoyed seeing ostrich, Egyptian Geese, a Black Oystercatcher, and large numbers of Sacred Ibis.
Also making an appearance were the Cape Wagtail, the Chestnut Winged Starling, a Steppe Eagle, and a Martial Eagle.
We climbed to the top of the stairs to see the Cape Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse, with a range of 63 miles, is the most powerful in South Africa.
Our next point of interest was Boulders Beach, a protected bay in Table Mountain National Park that is home to a colony of African penguins. The first animals we saw when we arrived, however, were a group of hyrax. A little further down the beach we came upon the penguins.
