You might not know that Mandela's 14-month stay at Victor Verster Prison was in a comfortable house in the compound, writes Sixolisiwe Ndawo

He was a scholar, lawyer and political prisoner - but he had no idea what a microwave was.

It was 1989 and Nelson Mandela had just been transferred to Victor Verster prison (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Facility, near Paarl in the Western Cape), to a house in the compound where he would spend the last 14 months of his sentence. He kept imaginary friends and the house offered a spectacular mountain view.

These nuggets of personal information about Mzansi's most famous son are shared by tour guide Manfred Jacobs.

A few of us are enjoying a private tour of the house that became a home to Mandela before his release. The three-bedroom structure forms part of a Mandela Legacy tour that South African Tourism has devised to track the icon's odyssey.

"To make it as easy as possible for people to personally experience Mandela's story, we have developed the 'Madiba-inspired tourist attractions' map, which encapsulates the key points on his life's journey," said Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

Mandela first entered the house through the burglar door of a bedroom he would spend just three nights in. According to Jacobs, Madiba didn't feel comfortable in the "spacious" double bed.

"For 25 and a half years, I have spent my time in a tiny room. Is there nothing smaller?" Mandela had apparently asked.

Our laughter dies down when we see the study that eventually became the great man's bedroom. It's so tiny that the headboard could not fit inside, but at least there's a bathroom attached to it.

But living in a house was cold comfort for a man who could not enjoy a moment of privacy. The house was littered with listening devices, and the only place Mandela could have a private conversation with his wife when she visited was in the pantry.

The kitchen is the same room where he learnt about the wonder of the microwave.

"When he woke up after the first night, he said 'Ah, there are two TVs' as he pointed to the microwave," Jacobs says to much mirth.

It was only when the police officer looking after him boiled water in the microwave and asked that Mandela feel the bowl that he was finally convinced. "He put his finger in the bowl and got burnt."

A roar of laughter fills the room as we get yet another glimpse of Mandela the man. The personal stories make him more real somehow.

Madiba was also fascinated by the fireplace. He would sit in front of it, putting more wood on, for hours on end. When the wood was taken away as punishment, the wily madala got a doctor to prescribe wood as medication for him.

Outside the house, by the pool, is where he spent time thinking and talking to a mountain. The mountain is shaped like a man laying on his back with his hands on his stomach. He called it "the old man".

Sitting by the pool, he would also enjoy random visits from ducks. He declined being taught how to swim. He merely sat on the second step of the pool and dipped in his feet.

The house offers a myriad hidden stories about Mandela's personality.

He built a replica of it in Qunu in the Eastern Cape because he felt that the people of his village would never get the chance to see it. Fortunately, it's been turned into a national heritage site and private tours are offered.

The Madiba-inspired tourist attractions map is a collaboration between South African Tourism and the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. It includes Robben Island, a world heritage site; Mandela's house on Vilakazi Street in Soweto; and the Kliptown Open-Air Museum, which marks the spot where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. The Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre in Qunu is also featured in the map.