Maropeng is starting 2011 off with a variety of events and opportunities to explore all the Cradle of Humankind has to offer.

With its beauty and tranquil atmosphere, the Cradle of Humankind is an ideal place to spoil someone special. With this in mind, the award-winning Maropeng Boutique Hotel is running two fantastic specials this Valentine’s Day. Dine on a three-course meal of mushroom florentine, herb-crusted kingklip and vanilla panna cotta, among other choices, for only R350 per person. Click here to book.

Save yourself the drive home after your decadent dinner and stay over at the hotel, where you can wake up to breakfast on the terrace and a feast for the eyes – the hotel overlooks the Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg ranges – for only R895 per person per night sharing. Click here to book.

The popular Cooper’s Cave picnic and walking tour is also back in February with palaeoanthropologist Christine Steininger guiding visitors, teaching them about human evolution and how to make stone tools. The event takes place on Saturday, February 5, and starts at 9h00. Click here to book.

As summer comes to an end in Gauteng, take time to reflect on the highlights of your holiday and the prospect of the year to come under a night sky at Maropeng’s first stargazing evening for 2011. Join resident astronomer Vincent Nettman on February 12 as he starts your astronomy journey with a presentation on the best “beginner” areas of the sky.

The evening begins at 17h00 with welcome drinks and delicious snacks on the Tumulus deck where you can enjoy breathtaking views over the Cradle of Humankind as the sun sets.

Remember to bring binoculars so you can participate in this laser-guided sky tour. Subject to weather conditions, you will be able to observe the summer sky objects and the moon through a range of large-aperture telescopes. The cost for this special evening is R190 per adult and R90 per child (4 to 14 years) and includes the stargazing presentation and a delicious buffet dinner. Click here to book.

Swartkrans, one of the Cradle’s richest fossil sites, is usually closed to the public, but visitors can experience it on an exciting walking tour on Saturday, February 19. A small group will have the rare opportunity to observe an active palaeontological dig, guided by scientist Morris Sutton, who is currently excavating in the area.

Swartkrans has yielded the largest sample of Paranthropus robustus, and it is also significant for the discovery of the earliest evidence of the use of controlled fire in Southern Africa, dating back more than 1-million years. Click here to book.
 

The school year has officially started and Maropeng is looking forward to welcoming many more learners to the Cradle of Humankind. Make sure that 2011 is a memorable year for learning and book your school tour to Maropeng.

School groups can be accommodated at Hominid House, which offers lots of place to play and relax after spending the day exploring Sterkfontein Caves or learning about the origins of humankind.

The 2011 school rates for Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves are:

• Maropeng guided tour – R64 per learner
• Sterkfontein Caves guided tour – R64 per learner
• Combined ticket price for Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves – R100 per learner
• Learner accommodation in Hominid House with dinner, bed and breakfast (no lunch included) – R227 per learner per night
• Teacher and driver accommodation in Hominid House with dinner, bed and breakfast (no lunch included) – R167 per person per night
• Lunch pack – R50 per person

Call +27 (0)14 577 9000 or email info@maropeng.co.za to book.

The end of 2010 was an exciting time with lots of new changes being implemented at Maropeng. A trip to the visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind was always a fun learning experience, and now it’s even more so, following the installation of new playground equipment behind the Tumulus building.

Made up of three areas – a jungle gym, sand pit, and a snakes and vines board – the playground is linked to educational information on display, helping young minds concretise the evolution of bipedality, for example. The equipment is made of wood and other natural materials and includes monkey bars, a fireman’s pole and swings.

The installation is part of a larger enhancement programme which includes new orientation signage for the exhibition centre. Click here to view photos of the playground.

The Treasures of our Past fossil display which is currently on at Maropeng is full of wonderful fossils and artefacts which give insight into how life on Earth existed in the past.

Interesting fossils on display include the oldest fossilised dinosaur eggs discovered to date, the skull of a pre-dinosaur which contributed evidence to prove continental drift theory, as well as the almost complete skeleton of the oldest land-living reptile ever discovered.

All items on display are from the collections of the Bernard Price Institute and the Institute for Human Evolution. Both institutes are based at the University of Witwatersrand and are at the forefront of research in the field of palaeosciences. The fossil display will run until the middle of February.