The Mother City

Daryll writes:

Our friends (Tom, Pat, Chris and Dom) had decided to leave Cape Town and head north a day after we arrived, but had agreed to go slow so that we can finally catch up with them.  With our free time in the “Mother City”, we took in a few of the tourist sites, Robben Island being the main attraction and had a set of tires (TKC 80’s) fitted to both bikes. 

New TKC 80's

I also picked up a spare rear for each bike which we have strapped to the back.  It’s extra weight, but we would probably need new rear’s around Kenya. 

Vancouver - 16,912km

Robben Island sits 11km from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront from downtown Cape Town and gained notoriety for it’s imprisonment of South African political prisoners and the incarceration of former President Nelson Mandela during the apartheid years.

V&A Waterfront

Table Mountain

With spectacular views of the city and Table Mountain, the prison was a harsh climate for prisoners though.  Our tour guide was a former prisoner himself and gave a candid insight of what life was like inside the prison. 

Entrance to Robben Island Prison

Many prisoners were sent here for speaking out against the then National Party of South Africa and the inequalities against Blacks, Coloureds and Indians.  I can go on about Robben Island and the years of apartheid, but this isn’t a blog about South African politics, so will shorten it to a few pics.

Mandela's Cell

The Rainbow Nation

New photos added to the South African photo album.