8 December 2005

By Lucille Davie

"IF we are very still, we will hear, if we really listen, these rocks and stones speaking to us today. They are the voices of our distant ancestors, who still lie buried in them - the voices of my ancestors and yours. You see, in Africa, things are seldom what they seem. And so I would say to everyone, welcome home."

With these words President Thabo Mbeki officially opened the Cradle of Humankind Maropeng Visitor Centre near the Sterkfontein Cave on 7 December.

Maropeng is a Setswana word that means "the place where we once lived".

The event, on the eastern outskirts of Mogale City, was a formal affair and Mbeki toured the site with Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan, Minister of Science and Technology Mosibudi Mangena and Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa.

"Maropeng Visitor Centre is our own 21st century humble contribution to record for posterity the story of evolutionary human biology and geography as it unfolds," Mbeki said.

About 3 million years of human activity have taken place in and around the 47 000ha cradle, including man's earliest-known mastery of fire.

Proclaimed a World Heritage Site in 1999, about 40 percent of all the world's human ancestor fossils have been found at the site.

It was at the Sterkfontein Cave that the 2,3 million-year-old Mrs Ples and the 4 million year-old Little Foot, a complete skeleton still to be excavated, were found.

"We have been truly blessed to be the custodians of such a heritage. Through Maropeng, a ... tourism public-private partnership project, we offer the people of the world the opportunity to connect with the golden chain of life and to our human evolution," Mbeki continued.

Hundreds of people attended the opening, including ministers, deputy ministers, members of parliament, MECs, MPLs, executive mayors, ambassadors and other diplomats.

Professor emeritus Phillip Tobias, chancellor of Wits University Loyiso Nongxa, and the chairperson of Maropeng a'Afrika Leisure board Herman Mashaba, were among the guests.

Jordan spoke of Africa's contribution to the world. "This continent shaped, in many respects, the world that we know today," he said, adding, the site "belongs to the peoples of the world".

Maropeng, some 10 kilometres north-west of the Sterkfontein Cave, is designed to resemble an ancient burial mound at the top a ridge overlooking the Magaliesberg.

The site has received three awards: from the British guild of travel writers for best new tourism project worldwide, for best civil engineering and building contractors, and best private-public partnership.

On entering the centre, visitors are greeted by the sound of rushing water. They look down on a lake, the first exhibit demonstrating the elements of earth, fire, water and air.

At the lake visitors set sail through a tunnel, exploring the formation of the earth some 4 billion years ago. They experience volcanoes, fire, rumbles and steam.

Then comes a walk through time, with visitors interacting with exhibits, including real fossils. They can discover more about mammoths or quaggas, explore DNA, understand fossils, or read about bipedalism.

Footage shows Dr Ron Clarke standing next to the skeleton of Little Foot, which is still embedded in the depths of Sterkfontein Cave.

Investigating an exhibit: Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, Maropeng chairperson Herman Mashaba, President Thabo Mbeki, Arts and Culture minister Pallo Jordan, and Rob King, Maropeng CEO

Once through the exhibits, visitors can stop off at the take-away restaurant and take in the atmosphere and the view of the mountains. The Tumulus Restaurant, on the top of the ridge, offers another view.

There is also a 5 000-seat outdoor amphitheatre, a craft market and several gift shops and restaurants. A conference facility for 500 delegates, a luxury boutique hotel and hostel accommodation for 120 learners are still to be built.

Two footprints can also be found at the site: of Mbeki, and of Kofi Annan, the secretary-general of the United Nations, made in 2002. Any future visits by heads of state will also be marked by footprints from them.

The development of the entire area, including infrastructure, is a Blue IQ project estimated to cost R347-million.

It will be managed by Maropeng a'Afrika Leisure in a public-private partnership that involves Wits University and the Gauteng province. The national government has made available land and money, and in return receives a share of the operating success.

About R167-million was set aside for the development of Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Cave site, with the private sector contributing R20-million.

It is expected that half-a-million visitors will visit the area annually.

The nearby Sterkfontein Cave site was opened in March this year.

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New Sterkfontein Cave complex opens

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Discover the Cradle of Humankind