Robben Island:

The long time home of Ex-President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, harbouring cold and cruel secrets. An Island of legends and sad tales, one cannot miss out on a tour to Robben Island!

Lying 9 kilometres off the shore of Table Bay, tiny Robben Island has played an extraordinary part in the history of the Cape. It is only 3 kilometres long and 1,5 kilometres wide, with its highest point being 35 metres above sea level.

When the first European navigators entered Table Bay they found the island smothered with birds and seals. It became an abundant source of food and penguin eggs where a particularly sought after delicacy, while the seals where hunted for their pelts. A great asset of the island was its security. Visitors could rest here without disturbance from the Hottentot tribes, who were never able to construct any for of boat.

When Jan van Riebeeck founded Cape Town in 1652, he initially used the island as a sanctuary for livestock, but the vegetation was soon destroyed by overgrazing and so a new use was found for the island, a maximum security prison. It has been so ever since then.