The long walk to freedom is the title of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s first democratic president. He spent 27 years in prison for fighting against apartheid. The Long March to Freedom includes a sculpture of Nelson Mandela. And sculptures of other remarkable freedom fighters who contributed to South Africa’s democracy. I loved how big the sculptures are. The plaques are really informative. And you get to walk amongst the sculptures making the experience feel interactive even though it isn’t really. It’s a great way to learn about the history of South Africa and the apartheid struggle.
It’s also a wonderful outdoors activity as the sculptures are located on an open patch of grass at Century City in Cape Town. This makes it a Covid friendly activity because there’s lots of room to social distance and fresh air. You do have to wear a mask to enter, sanitise your hands and keep your mask on throughout.
The sculptures are beautifully designed.The exhibit also spans across a lengthy time period, starting from the 1700’s when chiefs fought against colonial oppression to 1994 when South Africa became a democratic nation. Since I’m a political studies graduate and mad about history I knew about the life stories of many of the people featured in the exhibit. What was awesome is that I still learnt lots of new information. And I especially loved the section dealing with leaders from the 1700’s. The South African high school syllabus neglects that part of our history.
Klaas Stuurman a chief who fought against colonial occupation 
Klaas’s brother continued his fight after he died 
The view from back to front of the exhibit
I visited on Freedom Day, 27th of April 2021. This is the day the first South African democratic elections were held in 1994. The day is a public holiday and in honour of the day the exhibit was free for anyone who visited on the day. One of the best parts of the experience was seeing how many children were enjoying the exhibit and reading the plaques. But the best part was seeing my boyfriend enjoy visiting after having to drag him to go with me 😂
This is exhibit is beautiful and really honours freedom fighters. There’s a statue of Martin Luther King as well amongst all the South African heroes. The Long March to Freedom has a great website as well. You can click on each statue and learn more about each person. It also shows the information of each of the talented sculptors which is pretty cool. It’s not the same as walking around and seeing the sculptures in person but if you aren’t able to visit this is a great way to learn about South Africa’s freedom struggle. Read more here: www.nhmsa.co.za/sculptures.html
How to get to The Long March to Freedom
- After Sable Road, take the Century Drive Offramp
- At the traffic lights turn left
- Take your next left
Admission fees
Adults, Full Price: R75.00 ($5.22)
Child 2 – 16 Years: R50 ($3.48)
On certain days such as Freedom Day and St. Patricks Day it’s free to enter
Visiting Hours
Mon to Sat 10:00 – 18:00
Sun 08:00 to 16:00
Are there guided tours?
Yes there are guided tours offered everyday from 10:00am to 16:00pm
Contact details
For more information or group bookings info@longmarchtofreedom.co.za
Where can I buy tickets
You can buy your ticket at the gate they accept cash and card.
Thank you for reading and feel free to comment. I really love hearing from my readers. Take care😊
Nikkidiscovers 