Cape Town and Side Trips

All you can see are our heads as we travel on the catamaran to Robben Island.

ROBBEN ISLAND. This is a tiny island off of Cape Town. The highlight of this trip was to visit the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years of his 27 years behind bars. We took a catamaran to Robben Island and after landing there we visited Mr. Mandela's prison cell and the limestone quarry where prisoners worked unceasingly day after day. Robben Island was formally designated a museum on December 18, 1996. Below is a photo of the prison on Robben Island.

This is the prison on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years at hard labor.

Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at the Cape of Good Hope.

CAPE PENINSULA. The Peninsula can be divided into the Atlantic Coast on the West including the City of Cape Town and Indian Ocean on the East. Cape Peninsula is in the southwestern most corner of Africa with the City of Cape Town at its head. From Cape Town the tour traveled through South Africa's wine country. We stopped at Groot Constantia, a Dutch colonial homestead, once an estate of Cape governors and now state-owned. Here we sampled vintage wines. We went down the False Bay side of the peninsula where the scenery is breathtaking. Along this side may be seen ostriches, antelopes, baboons roaming. The group stopped in Simon's Town at the Black Marlin Seafood Restaurant for lunch. A stop was also made at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The group traveled south until Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and Cape Point were reached. A monorail was taken to the summit for a view of the "meeting of the oceans" - the chilly Atlantic and the warm Indian Ocean. While at Cape Point, you may stroll down to the Cape of Good Hope, which is the south-western most tip of the African continent and is not to be confused with the most southerly point which is Cape Agulhas, 170 km to the east. It is said that the two oceans do indeed mingle at Cape Point. On the return trip to Cape Town, the scenic drive was up the Atlantic Coast.

SILVERTOWN. This is a township of the nearby city of Paarl. It's name was derived from the corrugated zinc from which many of the shacks are constructed. No running water, no indoor toilets, no privacy! One dwelling nearby,which was used to house factory workers contains a block of four to six rooms, each about nine by fourteen. It was the residence of twelve persons with only six cots. Each resident has his or her own paraffin (oil) stove creating an unimaginable fire peril while food is being prepared. The occupants sleep in turn; women and men are housed irrespective of gender. This same condition or similar conditions, some even worse, and a few a little better, can be replicated millions of times in South Africa.

This is a photo of the shanty town called Silverton.

At the day care center named "Precious Gift", the head teacher is Zingisa Hilda Dyongo. We were met by Officer Princess Somson and Mr. Nicholas Nowatha, our escorts. The following three photos are of the Vuzokuhle Educare Nursery Center in Silvertown. The group spent a day with these children and was able to see how well the children were cared for. The last photo is of the head teacher as she waved goodbye to our group.

This is the beautiful Garden, Tuynhuys, Cape Town that was visited.

This is an aerial view of the University of Cape Town on the lower slopes of Devil's Peak. While in Cape Town, the group went to the Baxter Theatre at the University of Cape Town where was presented the Market Theatre production of "The Island" created and directed by Athol Fugard, who is considered one of the greatest playwrights in the English speaking world. He is South Africa's most prolific playwright, having had most of his works performed locally and abroad. The play is about two men in a cell on Robben Island and the meaningless absurd labor, punishment and the loss of freedom that imprisonment involves. Starred were the Tony Award Winning Cast of John Kani and Winston Ntshona.