Discover 4 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Cradle of Humankind (South Africa). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Sterkfontein, Wonder Cave, and Drimolen. Also, be sure to include Plovers Lake in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng).
Table of Contents
Sterkfontein
Nature preserve in South Africa. Sterkfontein is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about 40 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of Krugersdorp. The archaeological sites of Swartkrans and Kromdraai are in the same area. Sterkfontein is a South African National Heritage Site and was also declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. The area in which it is situated is known as the Cradle of Humankind. The Sterkfontein Caves are also home to numerous wild African species including Belonogaster petiolata, a wasp species of which there is a large nesting presence.
Numerous early hominin remains have been found at the site over the last few decades. These have been attributed to Australopithecus, early Homo and Paranthropus.[1]
Address: Sterkfontein Caves Rd., Cradle of Humankind
Wonder Cave
Nature preserve in South Africa. The Bothongo WonderCave in Kromdraai, Gauteng, South Africa is situated within the Bothongo Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve in the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cave is the third-largest cave chamber in the country. It is 5-10 million years old. The single chamber has an area of 46,000 square metres, and is 125 by 154 metres.
It was discovered in the late nineteenth century by miners who dynamited and excavated limestone for the making of cement. Mining stopped during the Second Boer War, and never resumed.
The cave has about 14 stalactite and stalagmite formations up to 15 metres high, 85% of which are still growing. The 60-metre-deep cave is accessible to visitors by elevator. The cave can be visited as an attraction on its own.[2]
Address: 520 Kromdraai Road, 1739 Krugersdorp
Drimolen
The Drimolen Palaeocave System consists of a series of terminal Pliocene to early Pleistocene hominin-bearing palaeocave fills located around 40 kilometres north of Johannesburg, South Africa, and about 6 kilometres north of Sterkfontein in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Cradle of Humankind.[3]
Plovers Lake
Plovers Lake Cave is a fossil-bearing breccia filled cavity in South Africa. The cave is located about 4 km Southeast of the well known South African hominid-bearing sites of Sterkfontein and Kromdraai and about 36 km Northwest of the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. Plovers Lake has been declared a South African National Heritage Site.[4]