For nearly 400 years, Robben Island was a place of exile and imprisonment where governments sent those they regarded as terrorists, politically unwanted, outcasts and troublemakers. The island is situated approx. 12 kilometers south from Cape Town in the Atlantic Ocean.

Since 1997 Robben Island has been a museum acting as a focal point of South African heritage. Daily tours of about 4 hours long, including the two half-hour ferry rides are offered (weather permitting) from the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town. In 1999 the island was declared a World Heritage Site.

During the apartheid years Robben Island was used to isolate opponents of apartheid and to crush their morale. Freedom fighters, like Nelson Mandela, spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for their beliefs. Overcoming opposition from the prison authorities, prisoners on the Island after the 1960s were able to organise sporting events, political debates and educational programs, and to assert their right to be treated as human beings, with dignity and equality. They were able to help the country establish the foundations of a modern democracy.

Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th and 20th centuries as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups and a military base. Its buildings, particularly those of the late 20th century such as the maximum security prison for political prisoners, witnessed the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism.

On the road to the village you'll pass a square-towered church and old Sailboat cannons. Most of the buildings today, date back to the Second World War with 9.2 inch guns and bunkers bearing testimony to the armaments erected to defend Cape Town. The main centre of Robben Island is located in a small village and mostly everything – from milk to building materials, had to be ferried over from Cape Town Harbour. Robben Island generates it's own electricity and obtains its water from nine boreholes.

Much has been done to restore the Robben Island's ecological haven to what it used to be centuries ago. In 1991 Robben Island was included in the SA natural heritage program and the northern parts of the island were declared a bird sanctuary. Buck, ostrich, and rabbits are also to be found on the island.

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