As a sports mad child growing up in New Zealand I will always remember 1981 as a sharp introduction to the real world. That was the year the South African Springbok rugby team toured, and my parents decided I wasn't allowed to go and watch, a decision based on concerns for my safety.
Suddenly one of my favourite sports was being played against a backdrop of barbed wire along the touchlines and large and sometimes violent protests inside and exterior the grounds. One match was even cancelled after protestors managed to invade the ground and make the pitch unsafe to play on.
New Zealand has a long history of competitive sport with South Africa, and what should have been other great sporting occasion was splitting my country in two. Although everyone believed South Africa's apartheid principles was wrong, the protests and debates were over how best to try and sustain change. Several years later I was told by a South African friend that the subsequent sporting sanctions hurt many South Africans more than the Trade Sanctions.
As the years passed I learned more about South Africa, the apartheid system, Robben Island, and the legend that is Nelson Mandela. His publish in 1991, along with other prisoners, and the subsequent free elections were preponderant in New Zealand as in the rest of the world. When a friend suggested a holiday in Capetown in 2004 I put on my replica All Black jersey and got on the plane (even though I could hardly walk, having completed the London Marathon the day before). Robben Island was always going to be the first traveler spot I visited, and the memories it has created, and brought back, will stay with me forever.
As you leave Capetown and Table Mountain behind and head towards the low, barren, windswept Robben Island, it is approximately impossible to dream how it must have felt to make that journey against your will.
The initial bus tour of the island was very informative and often entertaining, for the eight different nationalities represented. We learned a indispensable amount about the older history of the island, and of many of Mandela's less famous, but just as leading fellow prisoners. indispensable reference was made to the "Peace & Reconciliation" processes, and how South Africa is trying to only look forward, while still learning from past mistakes.
The highlight of the visit any way was the guided tour of the high protection prison. These tours are actually led by previous prisoners, and add a great deal to the experience. Walking along the corridor past the cells was an eerie experience. Even though many prisoners are still alive, you got a chill up your spine as if it was haunted. It was so easy to photo prisoners in the cells and warders walking the corridor, it felt as though you had been transported back in time.
Several times the prison guide referred to how he had "only" been imprisoned for five years. I commented to him on leaving that he shouldn't say "only" five years. His immediate response was that they had anticipated to die on the island, so any distance of time before publish was "only"...
Apart from in bad weather, Table Mountain and the surrounding mainland would have always been illustrated from Robben Island, to those prisoners who could only dream of returning there and being free.
Hopefully the spirit and dignity shown by men such as Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners will preclude such a principles from ever being allowed to return, and continue to help and inspire other oppressed groups worldwide to realise their dreams of equality and freedom.
Unfortunately, when asked for his memories of apartheid, one of the South Africans on the bus tour stated "I miss the good old days". Within seconds our guide had matched the dignity of Mandela. She calmly replied that everyone was entitled to their opinion.
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