When we climbed into the luxurious back seat of the silver Mercedes driven by Darrol Lee, I never suspected that besides being enthralled by beautiful vistas and amazing animals, we would come to know his personal history under apartheid.
His family was one of many who were relocated from their homes and dumped into less desirable areas. The only home he ever knew was razed so that a white family could build a house.
Residents of one such community, located on a beautiful cove, were moved across the mountain many miles away from the bus and train lines. Not only did it take longer to get to work but it cost more since they had to take a taxi or minibus to connect to the rail line into Cape Town. These were mostly poorly-paid unskilled workers.
To make this move more palatable, the new township was called Ocean View although there was none.
Toward the end of our 4.5-hour tour which looped from Cape Town down to the Cape of Good Hope and back, Darrol began talking about the effect of apartheid on his life. He was unable to fulfill his desire to become a teacher.
He was one of the Cape Town youth who marched in solidarity with those of Soweto. It was a peaceful demonstration with no apparent police presence. I felt his fear and anger when he described a large number of police suddenly pouring out of vans and beating the students with batons. He can clearly remember feeling the blows to his back and the colors of the bruises.
But despite all this Darrol says that he is not bitter because that is of no help.
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