Township Life in Cape Town

This is South Africa's history - poverty and oppression have played massive roles in creating these township areas where much of South Africa's people live in dire straits with nothing but a tin roof over their heads.

A few minutes later the shacks disappear as you make your way into town; soon it's all ocean views, mountains and the bright city glow emanating from apartments and penthouses.

Some people prefer to forget the outskirts of Cape Town and simply enjoy the city's more beautiful side. South Africa's remarkable recovery from an oppressive apartheid society into a free democratic country, however, really does deserve a little more attention.

If you really want to get the best of your Cape Town holiday, include a township tour in your itinerary like our Cape Town Cultural Experience does. In half-a-day you can be safely immersed in the thick of township life – a place where, despite poverty, people go about their daily lives smiling and laughing.

A township tour is a surprisingly sensory feast, driving down dirt roads you'll see African woman de-feathering chickens, kids running with tyres and every now and then some stray cows strolling around.

Leaving the townships behind, you'll find that the experience is an eye-opening journey that is as sad as it is uplifting, and mostly with a better understanding of just what the city of Cape Town is all about – from backyard shanty towns to beautiful beaches.