Hurtling along the N14 through the rather unattractive outskirts of Johannesburg, it’s hard to imagine Australopithecus africanus and his pre-human buddies high-tailing it across this dusty piece of Highveld pursued by sabre-toothed cats and long-legged hunting hyenas. Keep with the dreary N14 though; hang a right at the Krugersdorp four-way stop and you’ll soon discover the incredible history of this corner of Gauteng.
When I mentioned to my wife that we were going to visit the Sterkfontein caves, the audible groan was almost enough to make me turn the car around and head back to the malls and… well, malls… of the big city. Countless school trips filing past dusty fragments of bones explained by even dustier white cardboard captions had made any interest in the prehistoric as extinct as Mrs Ples herself.
Thankfully, a visit today to the Sterkfontein Caves bears no resemblance to those dreary school outings of days gone by. Just fifty kilometres west of Africa’s economic powerhouse, the very roots of humankind lie waiting, patiently, to be discovered at two wonderful new visitor attractions. the 47 000 hectare area known as the Cradle of Humankind – a designated World Heritage Site – is home to over three million years of human activity and over forty percent of the entire world's human ancestor fossils have been found in and around these nondescript koppies.
The Sterkfontein valley consists of around 40 different fossil sites, but the epicenter of the Cradle is the Sterkfontein Caves, where Dr Robert Broom excavated a near complete skull of Plesianthropus Transvaalensis in 1947; then the first hard evidence ever found of the ape-man ‘missing link’. Although ‘Mrs Ples’ – as she was later called – has become the icon of the Caves and the Cradle of Humankind, over 500 hominid fossils and 9000 stone tools dating back 3.5-million years have been discovered in the surrounding cave systems.
The revamped visitor centre is proving to be a huge hit with local and overseas visitors, offering facilities that match the incredible discoveries to be made below ground. But before exploring the new museum a tour through the caves is the perfect way to get a real sense of the history and mystery behind the cutting edge science that takes place nearby.
Well-informed, if rather short, guided tours run regularly through the caves and are highly recommended if you want to understand more about the history and palaeontological significance of the area. The caves, formed over millennia by water eroding the soft dolomite rock, were first discovered in the late 1800s when prospector Gulgimo Martinaglia stumbled upon them while searching for lime deposits. More interested in the lime and guano the caves had to offer, the miners’ dynamite destroyed many of the caves’ most incredible rock formations, but there are still some remarkable examples of stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone to marvel at. Enthusiastic guides such as bring the history of the area to life with tales of fortune seekers, saber-tooth tigers and serious scientists and are able to answer anything from geomorphology to human genealogy.
If you still have questions, the new museum is the place to find the answers. Expertly revamped, the displays of human pre-history and how we came to be is brought to life in a way that’ll appeal to both young and old. Using fossils, dioramas (keep an eye out for the slightly dazed female hominid!), displays and text, you’ll be transported from the days of Gondwanaland through the millennia to the many incarnations of modern humans, telling the story of human evolution. Creationists beware!
www.discover-yourself.co.za
Can you say ‘Homo Erectus’ without giggling?
If Sterkfontein is the old dealing with the ancient, then Maropeng is the prehistoric presented by the brand spanking new. In keeping with discovering where we came from, the very name ‘Maropeng’ is a Setswana word meaning ‘returning to the place of origin’, which highlights the fact that humankind originated from Africa.
“Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind is not only part of our national pride, but to the world, it denotes the universal relevance of the Cradle of Humankind as the ancestral home of all, no matter what colour, culture or creed,” says Erica Saunders from Maropeng, which is just five minutes drive from the Sterkfontein Caves.
From the moment you wander up the processional way, it’s obvious that the history of humankind is to be discovered below ground. The skyline is dominated by the ‘tumulus’ – the recreation of an ancient burial mound – which leads you down into the bowels of the earth. First up is a Disney-style underground boat ride that’s meant to speed you through four billion years in geological time as the earth evolves through the basic elements of water, air, fire and earth. While kids will be sure to squeal and shriek at the falling water and rumbling earth, adults will learn little until the ride offers more info and less theatrics; an upgrade that is apparently in the pipeline.
Don’t be disheartened by the slightly superficial boat ride; the main exhibition hall is one of the most innovative museums South Africa has to offer. Exciting visual displays such as ‘Birth of the Cradle’ explains how the caves were formed and the concept of evolution, while ‘The Path to Humanity’ manages to compress four-billion years of human development from prehistoric Australopithecus to Homo Sapien into a more digestible 12-hours of history.
“There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth, we are all crew”
The museum is a sensory overload and is perfectly suited for kids, with exhibits that can be pulled, pushed and whirled to make palaeontology palatable to pre-teens. Exhibits like ‘Dial-a-Dodo’ – where you can ‘listen’ to extinct animals talking – manage to make a usually dry topic fun to explore, while ‘What it means to be human’ explores the shared characteristics that separate human from ape.
Reinforcing the words of Marshall McLuhan, that “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth, we are all crew,” the display ends with a thought-provoking exhibit on sustainability, and the fact that if we want to be around for the next four billion years we need to stop consuming the planet at the rate we are. A sobering reminder that planning for the future is as important as exploring the past.
Want to spend more time exploring? Maropeng also offers a four-star boutique hotel, offering 24 stylish rooms. In summer the pool deck overlooking the distant Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg mountain ranges is the place to be, or you can simply soak up the winter sun while enjoying a meal at the chic restaurant.
www.maropeng.co.za
Apart from Maropeng, there’s a range of accommodation on offer in the area, from luxury guesthouses to self-catering cottages. The Forum Homini hotel nearby also plays off the association with Australopithecus, but for something different take a drive down the old Kromdraai road to Kloofzicht Lodge, a five-star establishment offering 42 thatch roof suites set in a small nature reserve on the banks of the Blaauwbank Spruit as it meanders through the Zwartkops gorge. Accommodation is suitably luxurious and the Lodge seems popular with conference groups, but the real attraction is to throw a fly for trout, bass and the elusive yellowfish in one of the six individually-stocked dams.
www.kloofzicht.co.za
If fishing’s not your scene, right next door is the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve where you can spot anything from white rhinos to big cats. On the edge of the reserve is the popular Wonder Cave, and although no fossils have been found here the cave formations are extraordinary. Most visitors take the lift down into the cave, but if you’re feeling adventurous you can even abseil in! If you still can’t get enough of being underground you can also visit the Old Kromdraai Gold Mine, one of the first gold mines on the Witwatersrand dating back to 1881.
www.rhinolions.co.za, www.wondercave.co.za, www.forumhomini.co.za
After all that dirty work, a bit of spa pampering is definitely in order and the Riverview Day Spa is a great place to relax and enjoy a range of holistic treatments just metres from the Crocodile River. You can also try The Spa in the Country at the Misty Hills Country Hotel.
www.rali.co.za, www.healthspas.co.za
The Joburg rat race is enough to stress out even the most evolved city slicker, but a weekend spent in the company of Mrs Ples and the ancestors exploring the Cradle of Humankind is bound to make you feel a little more, well, human.
» This article was originally published in the Out There Travel Guide. 
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