A Cape Town Look Around

Two days of our tour of South Africa were spent in the beautiful city of Cape Town. Here are my highlights:

Table Mountain: We took a cable car ride to the top of this famous landmark to get breathtaking views of Cape Town.

Robben Island: It was a humbling experience to visit the small jail cell where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years as the result of his opposition to South Africa's apartheid laws. We were led by former prisoners on a tour of this infamous penal island.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront: This harbor area is a great place to chill out, shop, eat, and enjoy local entertainment.

Peninsula Tour: This full-day tour was packed with jaw-dropping scenery as we made our way to the Cape of Good Hope at the bottom of the African continent. Along the way, we were able to spot some wildlife such as zebras, whales, penguins, and ostriches.

Quick Tips:

Buy Robben Island tickets early: If you plan to visit this very popular attraction, buy your tickets as early as possible to minimize the chances of it being sold out on the day you want to visit.

Best Way To Get Around:

By Air: Cape Town was the fourth stop of our 12-day tour of South Africa. We had a two-hour flight from Durban to Cape Town on South African Airlines (SAA). Since it was an evening flight, we were able to marvel at all the city's shimmering lights as we were coming in for the landing. SAA also offers international flights between the U.S. and Cape Town.

In the City: When we were not touring we used taxis to get to places like the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and the restaurants on Long Street. We were advised by locals to always telephone a private taxi as opposed to hailing one from the streets. We heeded their advice and enjoyed courteous service. A 10-minute ride in the taxi vans the six of us used normally converted to a total of .

The Protea President, known locally as The President, is part of the Protea hotel chain. There are several Protea hotels within Cape Town. The President is a moderate hotel that seems to cater to tour groups. Every morning groups of people would gather in the lobby and keep an eye out for their tour bus or van - as did we.

Even though my wife and I did not have a sea-facing room as did our travel companions, I still enjoyed our view of the colorful houses and condos built into the side of a mountain. We had a decent room with a double bed. The room also had a refrigerator, a small kitchen counter with silverware and china.

The room had a few annoyances such as the loud bathroom fan that wouldn't turn off. We had to have it repaired. However, the major problem with our room was that we were on the first floor and our window lock wasn't working. I didn't discover this until the last day we were there. Fortunately, this quiet area of the city seemed safe. Furthermore, the hotel has a security guard at the entrance of the property.

Although breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the dining room of The President, the only meal we ate there was breakfast. We were normally out sightseeing during the other meal times. The breakfast buffet was included in our trip package. It contained an omelet station, fruit, yogurt, pastries, potatoes, breakfast meats, and other food. I was happy with the meal each morning.

The hotel is approximately a 10-minute drive from Cape Town's major attractions such as the V&A Waterfront, Table Mountain, and the hangout areas on Long Street. Additionally, there are many conveniences within walking distance from the hotel. The beach is located a few blocks away. The streets to the left of The President contain restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other establishments. We found an Internet cafe that had a rate of $1 per hour. This place was a recommendation of the hotel staff since the hotel's Internet connection was down at the time. Our travel companions were relieved since they needed to go online to change their travel arrangements.

My overall impression of the Protea President Hotel is that it is a nice, moderate hotel with many amenities and conveniences. It is not in walking distance to any of Cape Town's major attractions; therefore, you will need to hire a taxi or sign up for an excursion at the hotel's tour desk.

Robben Island has served as a leper colony between 1836 and 1931 and later as a maximum security prison for political prisoners until 1991. South Africa's former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela, spent 18 years of his 27-year sentence in a tiny cell on this island.

From the V&A Waterfront, the ferry boat ride to the island takes about a half hour. Once there, there are two parts to the tour: the Island Tour which takes you around the island in a school bus and the Prison Tour which walks you through the prison. You find out which tour you are doing first when you get to the island. Basically, if you get off the boat and find that all of the school buses are full then that means you are doing the prison tour first.

The prison tour begins with everyone taking the same walk from the dock to the prison as every new inmate did when the prison was in operation. Inside, we met our guide, Len. Len spent 6.5 years as a prisoner on Robben Island. He walked us through the various sections of the building while explaining the hardships he and other inmates endured here. For example, we learned about the bucket system in which each inmate was given a bucket that he was expected to use as a toilet, a bath, and laundry wash. Len told us a community bathroom was eventually added during his stay.

We were shown the tiny cell in which Nelson Mandela spent 18 years. With the exception of his cell, we were given time to wander in and out of other cells. Each contains a bio or anecdote about the inmate(s) who lived there.

After our 45-minute tour of the prison, we boarded a school bus for our circle tour of Robben Island. We were shown sights such as the remnants of a leper colony, the solitary confinement chambers of inmates, the quarry in which prisoners were forced to work 8 hours per day, and the community in which the current residents of Robben Island live. Surprisingly, some former prisoners now live in harmony in this neighborhood with former wardens. The former inmates told us it was the non-violent and forgiving attitude of Nelson Mandela that has helped them get over the resentment they had of being imprisoned.

One other thing we noticed during our ride around the island is the wildlife. There are rabbits everywhere. We also saw antelope on the uninhabited side of the island. We even saw a colony of penguins.

Our visit to Robben Island, including the ferry boat rides, lasted three and a half hours. It was one of the highlights of my time in Cape Town. I've visited many museums in which you see exhibits and read the posted information; however, to be guided by people who actually lived the history makes the experience far more moving and educational. I was humbled by this tour.

We did the Thompsons Africa Half-Day Cape Town City Tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is a summary of our stops:

Table Mountain: Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain that rises 3,500 feet above Cape Town. We rode a cable car to the top where we got breathtaking views of the city and Atlantic Ocean. The cable car rotates as it ascends and descends the mountain allowing everyone to get a 360-degree view of the scenery.

District Six Museum: We were originally supposed to visit the Castle Of Good Hope, Cape Town's oldest building. However, our tour guide thought the District Six Museum would be a much more interesting stop for us. District Six was an integrated neighborhood in Cape Town. But, in 1966 while apartheid was still the law in South Africa, the government decided District Six should be a white neighborhood. As a result, the homes of the non-whites were demolished and the people were relocated according to their skin color. 600,000 people were displaced from District Six at this time.

The museum depicts life in District Six before the displacements began. All around the museum are pictures of businesses and families along with their personal stories. It was here we met Noor who watched his home being demolished when he was a teenager. He and his family were relocated to the colored section of town. It was so incredibly sad to listen to what he and thousands of others went through during this dark period of South Africa's history. Today, people are free to live wherever they want. There is a redevelopment program that is moving some of the displaced families back into District Six.

Streetwires: South Africa has a very high unemployment rate. It is estimated to be 45%. One of the work program initiatives that is trying to change this situation is Streetwires. It employs people to make the intricate South African beadwork that tourists love to buy. This artwork consists of twisted wire adorned with tiny beads. The artists in this small studio create all kinds of interesting figures from animals to a working radio. We were given time to purchase some of the products.

Diamond Tour: South Africa is known for its diamonds. The De Beers Group of South Africa is well-known in the diamond industry. Naturally, a trip to South Africa will include a diamond tour at some point. We stopped at a store where we could look through a glass and see the workers making jewelry. Other than that, it was just a jewelry store. My wife looked around a little while I enjoyed the complimentary glasses of orange juice they were serving.


At the conclusion of the tour, our guide gave each passenger the option of being dropped off back at their hotel or at the V&A (Victoria & Alfred) Waterfront. We chose the waterfront where we spent the rest of the day enjoying the shops, restaurants, and street performers.

Several tour companies in Cape Town offer this tour. Ours was through Thompsons Africa. It was an opportunity for us to see some of South Africa's jaw-dropping natural beauty. This full-day excursion took us on the winding roads through the mountains while never losing sight of the blue waters of the bays and ocean. We took a scenic, 45-minute boat ride (optional) to Seal Island to see a pod of seals lying on rocks and swimming in the water. I got a little nervous about how much the boat was leaning while everyone was on one side snapping pictures of these smelly creatures. After about ten minutes of seal viewing, the captain turned the boat around headed back to the dock.

Our van continued along the spectacular Chapman's Peak Drive stopping occasionally at gorgeous scenic overlooks before eventually arriving at the rugged shores of the Cape of Good Hope. Many early European explorers such as Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, and Sir Francis Drake sailed around this peninsula with the mission of colonization and finding trade routes with the Far East. We took a picture behind the sign indicating we were at the most south-western point of the African Continent.

We were driven to Cape Point where we had a nice lunch (not included) at the Two Ocean Restaurant overlooking the ocean. We took a funicular ride up to the location of an old lighthouse where we could get a nice view of Cape Point jutting out into the ocean. People have said that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet at the Cape of Good Hope. Some have even said that you can actually see a line in the water at the junction. However, our tour guide explained that there is really no way to tell exactly where the oceans meet. It is more likely they meet much further east than this cape. Furthermore, the line that is sometimes seen has more to do with the ocean current and weather conditions.

The land we were riding through is actually the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. It is known for its abundance of plant and animal life. It was not quite spring yet when we were there so there were not many flowers in bloom; however, we did spot some wildlife along the way. We saw whales, zebras, ostriches, and lizards. We made a stop at Boulders Beach to look at a colony of African penguins. They were originally called African jackass penguins because of the sound they make. They really do sound like donkeys. However, in recent years, the "jackass" has been dropped from their name. Tourists used to be allowed to walk on the beach with the penguins; however, it was decided later that it is probably better for the birds if the humans were kept at a distance. Therefore, a wooden walkway was built over the beach to allow people to observe the penguins without interfering with them. I thoroughly enjoyed the Cape Peninsula Tour.