Has any1 eva bin to Robben Island? What memories did you leave with when u left? Was it a movin experience?

Question

What were the highlights & the low points of the visit? What was missing from the tour itself? Is there anyway the experience could be improved at all?

Answer 1

I have once been there together with my father's students (it was their idea). The history of the Island as a place for people with leprosy (19th Century-1930s) was the moving part. Otherwise, people learn that the life in prison there was difficult, but not as difficult as 19th Century French labor camps, for example.

Answer 2

I went to Robben Island last year when summer was starting (October). The most interesting part of the tour was the tour guide himself, as all the tour guides are former prisoners from the prison on Robben Island. That type of personal experience cannot be replicated, and lends a deeper reality to seeing the empty prison cells and grounds. The tour of the prison itself was rather short, but by far the most fascinating part. To improve it they could probably make that part a bit longer, because there is so much detail and so many stories that could be told. And the tour of the island is interesting as well, and very beautiful.

Definitely recommend this tour. I dragged my friend with me while we were in Cape Town, and she was not too excited at the beginning. However, by the end she was really into it and excited to learn more. Especially seeing Nelson Mandela's cell, such an important man, and knowing what he had to go through with all the prisoners, at the limestone quarries. The history of Robben Island is important in the history of South Africa, and something that people should see.