Robben Island

I came very close to missing my 11am ferry to Robben Island on Morning. Yesterday's Leo Sayer in 35 degree heat had taken its toll and getting out of bed was somewhat challenging. However, I was still up and eating breakfast in what I thought would be ample time to get to the waterfront and catch the ferry. Unfortunately, there was a Miner's Convention or something on in Cape Town and that meant there was a long wait for taxis.

My only option was to go to the main road in Sea Point and hail down one of the many minibuses that ferry people around the city. Basically, someone drives their own minibus around all day with one of their mates hanging out the window trying to entice people on board. They will take you to most places in Cape Town for around five rand (50p). It sounds dodgy, but it's actually incredibly easy and efficient. I got to the ferry with a couple of minutes to spare.

Before boarding, all passengers were required to have their bags checked. As is typical when going through any security check, the guard asked me if I had anything in my pockets. This is usually followed by a reminder to remove any keys, mobile phones or wallets. On this occasion, I was seriously asked whether I was carrying any knives, guns or weapons. How very helpful - if this guy hadn't prompted me I would have completely forgotten to remove the 16 inch machete, AK47 assault rifle and surface to surface missile launcher that I had in my underwear.

Robben Island is of course famous for being the place Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for the bulk of his 27 year prison sentence. In fact, the island has a long history going back to the 17th century of being a place where people who fell out with the authorities were banished to. The Dutch used to send Indonesians here who objected to their colonial rule. People with leprosy were ferried to the island In the 19th century. In short, Robben Island does not have a tradition or reputation for being a holiday destination.

It is a short ferry journey from Cape Town to the island, and the splendid spectre of Table Mountain looks over it from the blue skies above. However the island itself is pretty unwelcoming. It's terrain is barren and desolate, and it is clear that not much has changed on the island since it was effectively a prison camp. Not that I'm suggesting it should have, mind you. There is a compelling case for maintaining places of historical significance in the manner they gained their notoriety, and the sight of a Nandos at the harbour on Robben Island would have been deeply disturbing.

We were taken round the island on a bus by an extremely informative tour  guide. Of most interest was the famous limestone mines where prisoners, including Mandela, slaved away in punishing conditions day after day. It was here that Mandela inspired a generation of political leaders with his guiding aim of bringing freedom and reconciliation to South Africa - the idea that you forgive, and not take revenge.

The former prison itself has been preserved as a museum, and the smell of it reminded me of the corridors at high school after they had been cleaned. There wasn't a a huge amount to see, apart from Mandela's former cell, but what was interesting was the talk given to us from a former prisoner sent to Robben Island for a variety of charges that essentially mounted up to no more than the security services thinking height be a bit of a troublemaker. He tells his story, which includes being tortured, not because he wants to, but because in a country with unemployment running at 43 per cent he doesn't have much choice.

Before heading back to the mainland, I had a brief chance to see a small exhibition in the shop by the pier. This gave a quite chilling insight into some of the apartheid regime's actions. We quite naturally associate the politics of white only rule in South Africa with racial segregation, but a lot of this government's policies went even further in their reprehensible nature. The security services carried out numerous atrocities both inside South Africa and in neighbouring territories against anyone considered to be an enemy of the regime. I didn't realise, or had forgotten, that South Africa occupied neighbouring Namibia with 100,000 troops, and made various armed forays into Mozambique. The regime also had an extensive nuclear weapons programme. What I'm trying to say, is that while the people of South Africa rightly owe Mandela and the ANC a huge debt of gratitude for their brave struggle for freedom, the rest of the world does too for ridding us of a vile regime that had the potential to threaten international peace.