V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain in the background

Enterence to Robben Island Prison

View of Kielicha Township, Cape Town - Home to estimated one million people

May 10: Last few days have been good. On Monday, I went on a tour of Robben Island. Very interesting especially since Nelson Mandela spend 18 years there. There's also penguins, ostridges and springbok there. A former prisoner who had spend 5 years imprisoned there was our tour guide. What posesses a man to spend any more time on that island is beyond me. He tells us the interesting story of how one of Mandela's close friends managed to smuggle his autobiography out of the prison by inserting pages into his photo album. When Mandela was elected president, he made this friend the minister of transport. Funny man, Nelson.

May 14: I went on a township tour which was the highlight of my trip so far. The history of the place really brings home to you how bad apartaid was. A mixed neighbourhood called District 6 was declared a white only area in 1960 and thus all the people living there had to be forced to move to one of the townships. Life in the townships is very tough and crime is high. Even though the people are poor there, they all seem very friendly. There's music everywhere and lots of life - not a dull place at all.

In the afternoon, I climbed Table Mountain - took an hour of tough walking and climbing to get there but it was well worth it. What a view. No photos could do it justice. I Watched the sunset from the top before heading back down on the cablecar. Today, I'm just taking it easy and planning my next few days. After that, it's off to Hermanus where I plan to dive with the great white sharks and probably shit my pants in the process. I also plan to head up the coast towards Port Elizibeth and Durban with a hike in the Transkai.