The clock tower at the V&A Waterfront on Cape Town, South Africa, and the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island
The Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town has sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, Table Bay Harbour, the City of Cape Town and Table Mountain. The V&A attracts more than 23 million visitors a year, South Africa's most visited destination. Situated in South Africa’s oldest working harbour, the 123 hectares (300 acres) space has been developed for mixed use, containing residential and commercial real estate. Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, began construction of the harbour in 1860. The first basin was named after himself, the second after his mother, hence the name. Now a maritime mall-cum-heritage site, the normally brick-red octagonal clock tower was built in 1882 as the port captain's office, so he could check the comings and goings of the harbour from the comfort of his mirrored bureau. The Clock Tower boasts an old tidal-gauge mechanism on the bottom floor, which was used to check tide clock mechanism can be found on the top floor and thanks to the restoration of this national monument in 1997, the original clock is still in use today. The clock tower used to be red, but was yellow in 2014. It signified the implementation of the Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 initiative. Trips to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway.
Size: 4072px × 2716px
Location: Clock Tower Precinct, V&A Waterfront. Area, Cape Town ,South Africa
Photo credit: © Derek Gale / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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