February 1, 2005
By Lucille Davie
STAND by for the opening at the end of March of the new-look Sterkfontein Cave and a new experience at South Africa's most important archaeological site.
Previously, visitors parked within 30 metres of the cave entrance, bought a ticket at the nearby café, did a very brief whip-around of a shabby single-room display, took a half-hour tour of the cave then went home.
Now the experience promises to be much more exciting. A new visitors' area and building is nearing completion, at a safe distance of 250 metres from the sensitive site, greatly enhancing a visit to this World Heritage destination.
New visitors' centre at the Sterkfontein Cave, at far left (Photo: Charles Corbett)
The broader Cradle of Humankind site consists of 47 000 hectares, with numerous caves, the most famous of which is the Sterkfontein Cave. Three million years of human activity have taken place in and around the cradle, including man's earliest-known mastery of fire. Forty percent of all the world's human ancestor fossils have been found here.
The experience will consist of visits to two sites: Sterkfontein, and eight kilometres northwards, Mohale's Gate. Sterkfontein focuses on the scientific aspect of the site, while Mohale's Gate will be a more hands-on, educational experience.
The R163-million project involves a consortium consisting of Furneaux Stewart GAPP Consortium, Wits University, and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs, which has supplied the funding.
A monolith at the roadside (just off the R563) marks the entrance to the visitors' centre at the Sterkfontein Cave. This leads to a flat, low single-storey building housing a restaurant, an auditorium, curio kiosk and a hominid exhibition hall with interactive exhibits. Once visitors have taken in the exhibits and bought their tickets, they'll walk up to the cave near the top of a koppie, where they will go on a half hour tour.
Once out the cave, visitors will follow the path back down to the car park past a small building where scientists will be working with fossils, visible to visitors as part of the experience.
The area is mostly grassland, scattered with trees, shrubs and rocks. The area around the visitors' centre will be planted with indigenous grasses, giving way to the indigenous plants and trees around the top of the koppie, where the cave lies.
Eight kilometres down the road is Mohale's Gate, the showpiece of the project. It is positioned up the side of the koppie, where ancient rocky outcrops will mark the setting of a huge burial mound, referred to as a "tumulus". This is a partly-disguised grassy mound 20 metres in height and 35 metres in diameter, in a teardrop shape, to be constructed of steel, glass and concrete.
The tumulus consists of four storeys, with the basement level consisting of an underground lake, which visitors can explore by means of explorers' boats on a delineated path, moving through a time line. From the underground lake visitors will enter a square tube cave, moving out from the teardrop structure, gently curved around, taking a 150 metre long walk through another time line.
Along the way visitors will be able to admire the original Mrs Ples skull and other original hominid fossils. The cave is designed to resemble a spine, with vertebrae protruding above ground, becoming the focus of the walk back to the building.
The rest of the building will consist of a conference centre, offices, a 5-star restaurant and observation deck, affording visitors views of the surrounding site. West of the tumulus will be a 5-star hotel in the form of explorers' tents, consisting of 24 units. South east of the tumulus an amphitheatre for 5 000 people is taking shape.
Mohale's Gate is to open at the end of the year. So far, the lake and amphitheatre have been excavated and the offices are at roof height. About a third of the construction is complete.
Foundations laid at Mohale's Gate (Photo: Charles Corbett)
Mohale's Gate is to form the first part of the Cradle of Humankind visit, and from there visitors will move on to the more formal Sterkfontein visitors' centre and cave.
Wits University and the Gauteng Department are pleased with the progress, and the sensitive handling by the construction team of the Sterkfontein site.
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