In lots of popular tourist destinations, you’ll find locals who dress up in costumes or perform traditional dances to attract tourists and earn money getting their pictures taken. We’ve found them everywhere like the girls in Inca costume with their llamas in Peru to aborigines in Sydney to street performers in New York. In Hout Bay, South Africa there’s a particularly aggressive bunch of men who’s act is actually breaking the law.
On the south side of Cape Town is a popular area called Republic of Hout Bay famous for its seafood restaurant and harbor where fishing boats tie up. The area has a large population of seals and a number of locals make money off the tourists by feeding the seals and getting their picture taken. It is against South African law to feed wildlife and it seems the authorities just turn their backs.
The Republic of Hout Bay is actually a publicity stunt. Around 1980 the residents declared their independence and actually started issuing a passport. Nobody actually takes it serious but the do a lot of promotion about the Republic.
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The Intentional Travelers 