Apr 3, 2020
As a full-time solo traveller, it's always great to have
visitors, especially from your kids.
You might remember that my youngest daughter travelled with me
for four months at the beginning of my journey to Asia. She met me
in Bangkok, and then we were in Chiang Mai, Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Hongkong, China, North Korea, South Korea. And when we
got to Japan, my oldest daughter joined us, and we had two weeks
together there – during cherry blossom season.
Since then, I've only seen them when I've been back in
Denmark.
When I knew I was going to be in Cape Town, they decided to be
spontaneous and book a flight to visit me. And I can't be
happier.
I've planned to show them why I love this place, and I'm going
to be the best tour guide I can be, and below you can find my
personal Top 10 Things to See in a Week in Cape Town.
The first thing on the list is a must-see when you're in Cape
Town. Like San Francisco has Alcatraz, Cape Town has Robben Island.
An island close to the city where there used to be a prison.
When you visit Robben Island, you start with a 40-minute boat
ride from V&A Waterfront.
FACTS ABOUT ROBBEN ISLAND:
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The World Heritage Site, Robben Island takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (robben), the Dutch/Afrikaans name Robben Eiland translates to Seals Island.
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It's 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) of the coast of Cape Town – and the island itself is 3.3 km (2.1 mi) long, and 1.9 km (1.2 mi) wide.
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The island was first used as a political prison in the mid-1600s. This was where the Dutch settlers sent people who refused to bend to colonial rule.
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In 30 years from 1961, a maximum-security prison here held enemies of apartheid.
One of the prisoners was behind bars here for 18 years, was a
political activist named Nelson Mandela. The South African also
call him Madiba – and our guide, who's also an ex-prisoner, calls
him Father Mandela.
In total Father Mandela served 27 years in prison until he was
released in 1990.
After the fall of apartheid, he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1993 together with the former president, Frederik Willem
de Klerk, and one year later this former prisoner of Robben Island
was elected President of South Africa.
The guide takes us for a walk around the prison and tells
stories of what it was like being there. And then we get into the
corridor with the cells in B-Block. One of them being the cell of
prisoner #466/64
A 2 x 2-meter cell with a thin mattress on the concrete floor
as a bed and a bucket for a toilet. They were allowed one visitor a
year for half an hour, and one censured letter every six months of
no more than 500 words.
Outside is a courtyard where Mandela and fellow prisoners
would eat breakfast, exercise and worked long days in the yard
hammering rocks.
A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY
Editing this episode, we're in the middle of the Corona
Pandemic, and I'm alone in an apartment in Cape Town during the
lockdown. We're not allowed to go for a walk unless it's to a
supermarket or the pharmacy. We're to stay at home.
When I think of the 18 years, Mandela spent in this tiny cell
on Robben Island, and we really shouldn't complain. We have
Netflix, YouTube, WIFI… and TikTok. We have music, radio and
podcasts. We can talk to our friends via video calls – and we do
that all the time.
Mandela was just alone with his thoughts. And still, he later
said that he came out of prison a better man. Thar being alone with
your thoughts give him a "wonderful opportunity" to
think.
What a remarkable man. He said this not that long after he was
released from 27 years in prison most of this in a small cell with
a matt as a mattress and a bucket as a toilet… and a light bulb
shining in his head 24 hours a day.
Let that sink in.
And then maybe give this a thought: Can we use this difficult
time with social distancing as a … "wonderful opportunity" to sit
alone and think.
LIMESTONE QUARRY MADE MANDELA "SNOW
BLIND"
Then we went on a bus ride around the island and passed a
bleak limestone quarry. It was here Nelson Mandela, and his inmates
worked virtually every day for 13 years, digging up rocks, some of
which paved the road we were driving on.
The sun was so relentless, the white limestone quarry so
bright and dusty, that Mandela got "snow blindness" – something
that damaged his eyes.
Our guide also tells us how Mandela and other heroes of South
Africa's anti-apartheid movement used their time in this quarry to
teach each other literature, philosophy, political theory, and much
more.
In 1997, three years after apartheid fell, the prison was
turned into the Robben Island Museum.
Robben Island is a must-see for any visitor to South Africa.
Tours leave Cape Town four times a day, and even though I've been
here before I'm glad I went back and shared the experience with my
daughters.
BO-KAAP WALKING TOUR
We're at the foot of Signal Hill, at the edge the city centre;
and we're about to go on a tour in what used to be known as the
Malay Quarter. We're going to Bo-Kaap, one of Cape Town's most
distinct neighbourhoods.
The neighbourhoods date back to the 1760s when a number of
rental houses were built and leased to slaves. These people were
known as Cape Malays, and were brought here from Malaysia,
Indonesia and the rest of Africa to work in the Cape. It was one of
the first South African settlements of freed slaves and Muslim
immigrants.
Now all the houses are really colourful. But that was not
always the case. It's said to be partly because of the fact that
while the slaves lived here on lease, all the houses had to be
white.
When this rule was finally lifted, and the slaves were allowed
to buy the properties, they began painting the houses in bright
colours as an expression of their freedom.
Our guide said that it was a doctor that started this trend –
to make it easier for people to find his house.
"Most of the houses were pretty identical, and the people
really struggled to find his place. So, the doctor thought that he
would paint his house red with white stripes. And then the tailor
that that this was a brilliant idea, and so did the cook. So they
initially started to paint their houses to suit the colours of
choice."
Today the tailors still use the colours orange and pink, and
the cooks still use the colour purple.
Bo-Kaap is as vibrant as it's culturally rich. This historic
quarter is a dynamic melting pot with cultural attractions…
traditional restaurants, craft markets, museums, a mosque and
churches. A visit to Bo-Kaap provides a look back in time, as well
as a window into the neighbourhood's modern culture.
You can sample the local cuisine on a food tour, visit the
Bo-Kaap Museum in the quarter's oldest building, or do like we did
get personal insights from a local on a guided walking
tour.
We used Free Walking Tours Cape
Town.
And then it's great for Instagram. Especially if you bring two
beautiful models as I did.
LANGA TOWNSHIP IS SAFE AND FRIENDLY
Next on my tour guiding days with my visiting daughters was a
trip to the township Langa. It's the oldest black township in South
Africa and is also the closest to Cape Town.
Now it's a safe and friendly tourist destination, and a highly
unique experience, totally different from any other experience in
Cape Town.
We were introduced to the vibrant township community and the
bustling Langa Arts Quarter.
When we arrive in Langa, we set out on foot to explore this
wonderful community. Being on foot is a more real and immersive
experience than driving from one location to another. It gives you
an opportunity to interact with the people as they go about their
daily lives.
THE STORY OF THE DOMPAS – DUMB PASS
After a visit to a arts and craft workshop, we went to the
Langa Heritage Museum to learn about Cape Town's oldest township.
It's also called the Dompas Museum.
"Dompas" quite literally means dumb pass – or "stupid pass".
During apartheid, all black people were required to carry passbooks
when they were outside the township. If they didn't carry their
Dompas they would get a fine, get arrested, or deported.
The atmosphere in the museum is a mixture of abuse, sadness,
defiance and triumph.
THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE
On the 21 March 1960, 50,000 people burnt their dompas' to
protest the apartheid pass laws.
In Sharpeville near Johannesburg, 5-10,000 black South
Africans gathered unarmed at the police station without their
passbooks. They wanted to state their case by getting
arrested.
But instead, police opened fire – shooting protesters in the
back as they were running away. In two minutes, police fired more
than 1300 bullets. They killed 69 people including eight women and
ten children and wounded 180 in a hail of submachine-gun
fire.
Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day
in South Africa, and Sharpeville was the site selected by President
Nelson Mandela for the signing of the Constitution of South Africa
on 10 December 1996.
THE KIDS OF LANGA
After the visit to the Dompas Museum, we went for a walk in
Langa to visit a home and experience a variety of lifestyles. On
the way there we met a group of young boys in school
uniforms.
The children in Langa are very open to visitors as children
are in most places in the world. These wonderful kids that took an
interest in my youngest daughter, Clara and her camera. And she
took a lot of pictures of them making funny faces.
I highly recommend that you go on a township tour when you're
in Cape Town. It's a different experience to visiting the
spectacular beauty of Cape Town. Here the beauty is not in the
mountains, the scenery or the plants. Here the beauty is in the
people.
You will meet up with people who have struggled and overcome.
As you know, South Africa has been extremely segregated for decades
during apartheid. And still, they have some of the greatest
separations between the rich and the poor anywhere in the
world.
By understanding the struggles of the past, seeing how people
make the most of difficult situations, and talking with the people
face-to-face, you will leave with a whole new feel of South Africa.
And that's why we went, and I'm glad I also chose to share this
experience with my daughters.
TOP 10 THINGS TO SEE
Here is the complete list of things to see if you only have a
week in Cape Town – like my daughters.
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Robben Island.
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Bo-Kaap.
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Table Mountain.
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Langa township tour.
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Drive on Devils Peak Drive.
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Cape Point.
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Winery tour and see the stunning nature in the area.
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The African penguins on Boulders Beach in Simon's Town.
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Lion's Head.
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See the sunset from Signal Hill.
MORE TO SEE
This was what made it into my list. But there is more, I could
recommend. You should make time to simply hang out in the city
bowl, go to the market on Green Market Square, enjoy the ocean at
Sea Point and spend some time in V&A Waterfront.
Also, you should check what is playing at the Artscape Theatre
Centre. They always have something interesting on. On my visits to
Cape Town, I've seen everything from stand-up comedy, youth plays,
big productions like ballet and musicals. I've seen both Swan Lake,
Dirty Dancing, and West Side Story. The tickets are very
inexpensive compared to western prices.
LINKS:
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