Robben Island, South Africa travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

The famous Robben Island, whose prison was once home to former South African president Nelson Mandela as well as many other black political freedom fighters, is now a World Heritage Site and provides views across the bay with Table Mountain as its backdrop. A journey to the island is an amazing experience offers a glimpse into the life and times of the apartheid era. The island was also used as a leper colony and animal quarantine station. The island is nearby Whale Rock and have been the nemesis of many a ship and its crew. The surf of the open Atlantic Ocean thunders continuously at its margins and any vessel wrecked on the reefs offshore is soon beaten to pieces and disappears. 

Rent a vehicle from Cape Town car rental and take one of the daily tours to the island, which include the ferry trip there and back, an island tour and a tour of the prison. Years ago, the only animals on the island were seals and birds, principally penguins. In 1654, the settlers released rabbits on the island in order to provide a ready source of meat for passing ships. Today there are may be 25,000 rabbits on the island and they are being hunted and culled to reduce their numbers.

Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km².^[1] It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group.