Cape Town - With the Robben Island Museum’s R26-million Sikhululekile Ferry no longer in operation, tour guides have complained that substitute ferries and unreliable schedules are negatively affecting visitors to the island.
Francoise Armour, director of Tours du Cap, highlighted their complaints in a letter to the editor of the South African Tourism Update in December last year.
The Robben Island chief executive, Sibongiseni Mkhize, responded to her letter in January year stating that the unreliability of the ferry service was linked to business decisions taken by the museum in the past.
He added that the museum would procure another ferry or partner, with the private sector to deliver the service.
But, according to Armour, very little has changed since.
“Nothing has improved with the boat issues,” said Armour. “With Sikhululekile out of commission, the boats being used are old and they don’t feel safe. Passengers on these boats get wet while travelling.”
Another tour guide, who did not want to be named, said her eight clients from China had had to stand while travelling on a small boat to and from Robben Island.
“The majority of the time passengers must stand while water seeps through these boats. Some of them are so soaked by the time they reach the island, they are no longer interested in the tour,” she said.
Tour guides are also unhappy that clients have to wait 30 minutes at a time for a boat to take them to the island.
“Most tour guides avoid suggesting Robben Island as a tourist destination, unless clients request it,” said Armour. “Despite these problems, the tours are still fully booked so they will probably muddle along with these boats over the festive season. Hopefully Robben Island Museum will review their budget and get a new ferry sorted out soon.
“They need a ferry that is reliable in all types of weather.”
Museum spokesman Quinton Mtyala said since the Sikhululekile broke down last year, they had investigated what had caused the damage to the island’s main ferry.
“Sikhululekile was bought six years ago and it was discovered that the bulk of the damage made to the boat was during low tide.
“The investigation showed that there was a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Murray’s Bay harbour floor that was causing the damage,” said Mtyala.
The Robben Island Museum will no longer be using Sikhululekile and a tender has been issued for a service provider.
In October, Mtyala said a new ferry should be completed before the start of the holiday period. Yesterday, he said a new ferry would operate from April.
Despite the 5 percent decline in the number of visitors to the island in December last year, compared to December 2012, Mtyala said 320 000 people were expected to visit the island in the 2014-2015 financial year, which would end in March
“We are not a privately owned company that can just purchase an expensive speed boat. We are accountable to the auditor-general,” he said.
“We do acknowledge the delays in schedules, but it must be realised that we are dealing with nature. Sometimes the boats travel against the current, which causes delays.”
Cape Times