Robben Island MCR - Escape Committee

At last, a proper African bar	between a side road and a makeshift football pitch	Also, it's a backpackers lodge	and a locals football pitch
The local wildlife		Aspirations to be a beach bar. Footprints are not allowed to remain	No rain in winter
hence the parched grass	The team tests out the bikes - a few repairs were needed	Tim raring to go
	Tim's going to get help with the pedalling		Our guide for the day
Orlando Stadium + some of Soweto, and our guide		There's a story about these.
One of the original male 'hostels'	Now women are allowed & there's electricity, but no tarmac...	...but it's still a shared water tap & loo block	This is the official rubbish collection area
All of the kids follow us around	and one of them took a shine to Alison	This is outside the local shabeen	Joburg beer brewed from maize, about shandy strength and rather sweet.
Also comes in less traditional cartons	But if you drink enough of it then?		Replacement housing with running water & indoor private loos. One hopes the sewers won't overflow either.
Our guide explains the corrupt allocation system.	Off through Meadowlands	Towards the Hector Petersen Museum
The Hector Petersen memorial. Back then many children were given English or Afrikaan names to try to overcome discrimination.		The 'rescuer' here had to flee South Africa because of this photo and he disappeared in Nigeria.	A thirteen year old victim of the Apartheid regime.
The National Party tried to impose Afrikaans (instead of English) as the teaching language in schools	15,000 school children protested; the police shot at them. The rest of the world woke up.	We all set off again - a mobile traffic hazard ;-).	The street where Nelson Mandela & Desmond Tutu lived.
Mandela's house, down the road is now a major tourist attraction.	View from Mandela's house. The power station, built 1932 but not for the locals - all power went to North Johannesburg.	Desmond Tutu's house.	We trek up to a lookout point.
Another landscape. Orlando West to the left & Orlando East beyond the main road & river.
The power station eventually provided local power in the 50's...	But only for these massive floodlights which were used for detecting people breaking the 9pm curfew.	Winnie Mandels's house somewhere.	A local Shabeen. It would be more reassuring if this sign wasn't needed
But beer, 'kota' and convivial locals are allowed - 'The Shack' shabeen.	A brazier full of coal. It must be very cheap here.

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