Sterkfontein Caves

Sterkfontein Caves

.

2 & more persons R1 850.00 per person; Single person R3 500.00

½ Day : Morning or Afternoon (± 3 hours, 8:30 or 13:30, departure times may be changed to suit customers)

Accompany us on a tour of the cradle of man kind, the Sterkfontein Caves (a World Heritage site). The Sterkfontein Caves are the site of the discovery of the famous Mrs Ples. The caves comprise a series of caverns with many stalactites and stalagmites and a huge underground lake.

 

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Touraco Tours : Sterkfontein Caves

Strekfontein: Mrs. Ples

Touraco Tours : Sterkfontein Caves

Sterkfontein Caves

Touraco Tours : Sterkfontein - Little Foot

Little Foot Skeleton

Itinerary

Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for Strong Spring) is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about 40 km (23 miles) Northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The archaeological sites of Swartkrans (Afrikaans for Black Cliff) and Kromdraai (Afrikaans and Dutch for Crooked Turn) and the Wonder Cave are in the same area. Sterkfontein is a South African National Heritage Site and was also declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 and the area in which it is situated, was named the Cradle of Humankind.
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.
History of investigations
Modern excavation of the caves began in the late 1890s by limestone miners who noticed the fossils and brought them to the attention of scientists.
It was not until 1936 that students of Professor Raymond Dart and Dr. Robert Broom from the University of the Witwatersrand began concerted excavations. In 1936, the Sterkfontein caves yielded the first adult Australopithecine, substantially strengthening Raymond Dart’s claim that the skull known as the Taung child (an Australopithecus africanus) was a human ancestor. There was a pause in excavation during World War II, but after the war Dr. R. Broom continued excavations. In 1947 he found the almost complete skull of an adult female A. africanus (or possibly that of an adolescent male). Robert Broom initially named the skull Plesianthropus transvaalensis (near-man from Transvaal), but it became better known by its nickname, Mrs. Ples. Mrs Ples is now defined as a member of A. africanus.
In 1997, a near complete skeleton of a second species of Australopithecus (StW 573) was found in the caves by Ronald J. Clarke; extraction of the remains from the surrounding breccia is ongoing. The skeleton was named Little Foot, since the first parts found (in 1995, in storage) were the bones of a foot. Excavations continue to this day and finds now total some 500 hominids, making Sterkfontein one of the richest site in the world for early hominids.

can also be combined as a Full Day Tour with:
 Full Day Tour Combination
 Maropeng  Sterkfontein Caves & Maropeng Centre 
 Wonder Caves  Sterkfontein Caves & Wonder Caves
 Lion Park  Sterkfontein Caves & Lion Park, Johannesburg
 Lion & Rhino Park  Sterkfontein Caves & Lion & Rhino Park
 Lesedi Cultural Village  Sterkfontein Caves & Lesedi Cultural Village
 Johannesburg City Tour  Sterkfontein& Johannesburg City Tour
 Pretoria City Tour  Sterkfontein & Pretoria City Tour 
 Soweto Tour  Sterkfontein & Soweto
Further Tour information:

1/2 Day : Morning or Afternoon (± 3 hours, 8:30 or 13:30, departure times may be changed to suit customers )

Clients will be picked up at the OR Tambo Airport (Johannesburg) or their accommodation in Johannesburg or Pretoria.

NB.: an additional R600 per vehicle for each pick-up/drop-off in Johannesburg/OR Tambo Airport/Sandton.

Lunch is  not included.

Included:  

  • Guided tour in Air-conditioned vehicle, conducted by a SA Tourism registered guide.
  • Entrance fees, fuel

Tour Info:

  • Tours are generally conducted in English. Surcharge applies for foreign language guides.

In your booking requests kindly provide us with the following info:

  1. Number of persons in your group (no minimum number)
  2. Desired date of tour.
  3. Pick-up address (place of departure) (Hotel, Home, or OR Tambo Airport)

 

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