Revolution Route

(18 reviews)

This is a 1.8mi walking tour

It takes an average of 75 mins to complete.

Cape Town

South Africa

Archived

This tour isn’t available for download. We’ve preserved the script and audio as a record of its moment in time, but we don’t recommend doing the tour. It was published in May 2017.

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About the Tour

A journey through revolutionary struggle in Cape Town. Written by journalist and activist Gael Reagan, and produced by Iain Harris, the Revolution Route is infused with performance poetry and original music. It explores stories and characters of resistance to oppression, from the Khoekhoe resistance to colonial invasion, through the apartheid struggle where figures like Mandela, Kgosana, Biko and Haron feature strongly.

The Route was written by Gael Reagan, who was a journalist for underground newspaper Grass Routes in the late 1980s, covering the revolution as it took place. In the 1990s she covered the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for SABC TV, and in the 2000s, she was the arts editor for Cape Town daily newspaper the Cape Times. She is presently working as a freelance journalist.

Tour Producer

Coffeebeans Routes

0 tours

Coffeebeans Routes creates travel experiences around urban stories in Cape Town and Johannesburg. These are contemporary, urban, African experiences that provide deep insights, and plenty of fun. From tours to special events, as long as there are people and stories, we have a canvas.

Iain Harris, the director of Coffeebeans Routes, is a former journalist, writing locally and internationally on African music, and a music producer.

Preview Location

Location 1

Welcome

Hello friends, and welcome to the Revolution Route, Cape Town. You should be standing on Spin Street, outside the coffee shop called Bread Milk and Honey.

My name is Iain Harris, I’m the founder and creative director of narrative travel company Coffeebeans Routes. I concei... Hello friends, and welcome to the Revolution Route, Cape Town. You should be standing on Spin Street, outside the coffee shop called Bread Milk and Honey.

My name is Iain Harris, I’m the founder and creative director of narrative travel company Coffeebeans Routes. I conceived of and produced this audio tour, it builds on the four hour guided Revolution Route we launched in 2014, introducing guests to the people and stories that have shaped our Revolutionary past. Today I will be simply prompting you with directions.

GAEL: !Gai tses – hallo. Cape Town, the Mother Citi welcomes you. Khaits-go? Are you awake? Skrik wakker. Vuka.

IAIN: That’s Gael Reagan. Gael gave me my first real break as a journalist back in the 90s when she was the arts editor of the Cape Times. She was a journalist for underground newspaper Grass Routes in the late 1980s, covering the revolution as it took place. She’s covered the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for SABC TV, been an arts editor for a daily paper, and these days she’s a freelance journalist. Gael wrote this walk, and she is the narrator.

GAEL: “Khaits-go” is how the very first peoples of this earth, the Khoesan - the people who are philosopher hunters and gatherers - greet. In this one call is the core of a universe. The question statement is a cultural greeting – it is a constant call to your consciousness, your awareness. You see, this space, where all our ancestral mothers and fathers birthed and lived freely, sometimes aggressively, is where the KhoeKhoe named our species. ‘Khoe’: that is, ‘human’.

This is not only to distinguish you from all else that exists – water and proteasucculent and stone and wolf – but also to indicate for you the defining quality of your species. In the Latin root of the tongue you are named sapient: discerning, intelligent, wise. Our wisdom is derived from consciousness and expressed through language. Khoekhoe means a person’s person – the protocol of personhood, humanity, Umuntu umuntu ngabantu. I am a person because you are a person – it implies full understanding, obligation and agreement. You are because I am.

IAIN: It’s time to start walking. Turn so that Bread Milk and Honey is on your right-hand side.

There’s a street up ahead. Walk towards it, and then cross over at the traffic lights. I'll meet you on the other side.

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Major Landmarks

Cape Town City Hall
The Company's Gardens
Cape Town's St Georges Cathedral
Cape Town Church Square

Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
51-89 Plein St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
Total distance

3km
Final location
0A Spin St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
Distance back to start location

51.15m

Directions to Starting Point

We'll start outside Bread Milk and Honey on Spin Street, opposite Church Square. From Cape Town Station, follow Adderley Street towards the mountain. Then turn left into Spin Street, just before the Slave Lodge.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The District Six Museum; the Slave Lodge; maybe a coffee break before or after at Bread Milk and Honey, which is open from 7am to 4pm.

Best time of day

From 8am to 11am, and 2:30pm to 5pm. This avoids the harsh midday sun in summer. Otherwise any time is good.

Precautions

Parts of this route are best avoided at night and on weekends especially if you're walking alone. Muggings have occurred in the city centre so please hide your valuables or leave them behind.

Please take water and sunscreen especially in summer.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

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Questions and Reviews

4.8 / 5

18 Ratings

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