Today was  one of my most thought-provoking days that I have experienced in my time in South Africa going first to the 27 For Freedom run with my school and then experiencing the famed District 6 museum.

The prefects at my school had a field trip to run 5k as part of the 27 For Freedom Run where the anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release is commemorated with a fun run around the Victor Verster Prison where he was released.

It’s a surreal experience to go for a run by a prison as you run past iron gates and barbed wire and you do visualise Mandela’s steps out of the prison as you jog round.

On the face of it at the end of the run the sight of thousands of people across all age, racial and cultural demographics mingling together is a fitting tribute to the man and the end of Apartheid but I have to say that hasn’t been my experience of South Africa so far.

Other than this event I can’t think of anywhere I’ve been where I have seen different racial groups integrate in Cape Town. 15% of South Africa is white but if I didn’t know the history I would have believed that figure to be north of 70%.

I’ve been doing mainly tourist sites and inevitably these are in the wealthier parts of the city and almost universally the only non-white locals I see are those serving in restaurants and bars.

At first it made me feel uneasy but the longer I have been here the more striking it has become for me. Going from a school with no white kids in a community with almost no white faces to then traveling to areas where you never see a black face you would instantly believe someone who told you Apartheid was still in force.

At first I assumed this was linked to economic inequality and would change as this gap gradually narrowed. However what I find interesting is that when I talk to locals about it they tell me about when non-whites gradually improve their living standards and try to relocate to wealthier areas and better schools that often some local whites will leave the area so there does seem to be more to the segregation than just economics.

When I was at Robben Island I remember my tour guide saying that Apartheid wasn’t really about prisons or forced removals but rather about a culture of separation and I do wonder how long it will take for that culture to change.

When I visited the District 6 Museum this afternoon and learned some more about the 60,000 black residents forced out of their homes in that area I found myself reflecting that the ‘no coloured’ signs may have gone but the segregation remains.

In the context of major social movements the 28 years  since the end of Apartheid is no time at all and maybe over time this separation will gradually reverse but at the moment the racial separation I’m witnessing is one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever experienced.