Friday, July 28, 2006
Robben Island
Having already visited Alcatraz we weren't really sure what to expect here, although the first thing we discovered was that the tickets sell out just as quickly as those for 'The Rock'. One reason for this is that there are far fewer visitors on the island at any one time so it didn't feel so much like a theme park. There was also not quite so much to see here, it's more the significance of the place than the actual 'sights'. The first part of the tour involved driving around the island in an old prison bus, this did involve a visit to the quarry site where the prisoners used to have to work but also included a few stops to check out the wildlife on the island (Springbok, Ostrich and others). There was also a large colony of penguins waiting to see us off as we left the island. The final part of the tour did make up for the relative lack of things to see on the island and we were shown around one of the remaining blocks, which is largely empty except for the cell formerly occupied by Nelson Mandela. At Alcatraz the audio tour is great and includes sections of narration by former prisoners, here at Robben Island however they've gone one better, and so you're shown around by people who actually spent time here as political prisoners.
It was good to hear the story first hand, but given that South Africa is now focused on reconciliation and moving forward it's hard to tell how much of a 'sanitised' version of events we were given. There is however plenty of information back at the museum on the waterfront, with lots of detail about both the events during the time of apartheid and the results of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission's investigations.
More photos here.
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