As the official visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Maropeng has become a popular venue for travellers seeking a cultural, just-out-of-Johannesburg experience.

Maropeng is a unique destination that allows visitors to embark on the journey that human beings have taken, at the same time replacing the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg with wide open spaces and breath-taking views, says Lindsay Marshall, marketing and communications manager and acting gm of Maropeng.  “It’s the opportunity to experience the only World Heritage Site in Gauteng,” she says.

Marshall says Maropeng is the perfect breakaway, with opportunities to experience the Maropeng exhibition or do a tour through the Sterkfontein Caves, which are only 10km away. “We always hear people say: ‘I can’t believe I am in Gauteng, so close to home, yet look at this environment’, and you realise what a special place it is when people are captivated,” she adds.

Located just one hour’s drive out of both Pretoria and Johannesburg, the Maropeng conference centre offers guests some of the best views in Gauteng along with four-star service at the Maropeng Hotel. The property offers a niche conference set-up for conference organisers, with a dedicated events team to assist with all conference, team-building or strategy sessions for groups of up to 500 delegates.

While Marshall accepts that getting to Maropeng may be seen as a challenge because it is outside Johannesburg , she maintains that if people get in touch with the management and receive specific directions and GPS co-ordinates, access becomes easier. “I recommend that people do a site visit beforehand because, if people have seen the property before bringing other people, it makes the understanding of the place and the reason for the drive much clearer,” she maintains.

Nonnie Kubeka, head of Gauteng Conventions & Events Bureau at the Gauteng Tourism Authority says: “The secluded and serene environment in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site provides a unique atmosphere which facilitates concentrated attention and the effective sharing of knowledge. This environment ignites creativity and innovation.”

Hominin House at Maropeng has been recently upgraded to provide 6 additional private rooms and the volleyball court and braai areas have had a facelift. According to Nonnie, other future developments include picnic sites, the experience laboratory and a virtual lab which will have a web-cam platform designed and supported by National Geographic.  “This will facilitate communication between scientists and children, within the country,” she says. “It is then hoped to expand this platform to international audiences and participants in other countries and it is hoped that China, which has its own extraordinary palaeoanthropological and palaeontological research will be one of the first participating countries to be linked in to this platform.”

“Not only is Maropeng celebrating its 10th birthday this year but September is also Heritage Month, so we are the ideal getaway for this time of year and there are some fantastic promotions coming up,” says Lindsay. “Our fossils are cast in stone but our events are not and we are trying to create experiences that people will take away with them for a long time.”