After seeing a group of tourists get off the bus at Lekau's house, her neighbor rushed over, assuming Lekau was in trouble. There has been invasion of privacy, people barging into homes. That has been horrible for the community. But guides insist the tours are not an attempt to make a voyeuristic theme park out of poverty, saying they brief tourists on acceptable behavior and offer them an opportunity to interact with residents. The tourists must sing back.
Tourists also can spend a night in a township.
Guides say such cultural exchanges can benefit township residents, many of whom will never leave Cape Town. There's no room to sit down, so I have people in my kitchen and everywhere, just talking about everything. They've come from Germany, Ireland, Florida, Michigan, Denver, Denmark. Because of apartheid, we never had the opportunity to share our cultures before. Daytrippers director Steven Thomas, who began giving township tours in 1993 after tourists asked about squatter camps they saw on their way to the Cape winelands, says the exchanges also open the eyes of the visitors.