Get back to your roots in the Cradle of Humankind

As South Africans, we have much to celebrate during Heritage Month but there’s one place to which a visit just feels fitting during this time: the Cradle of Humankind. Less than an hour’s drive from Johannesburg, the 47,000ha area was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999 due to its abundance of fossils.

The Cradle is home to about 15 sites — some dating back 5-million years and still being excavated — where fossils of the earliest known life forms and human ancestors have been discovered. Owing to the significance of these discoveries, not just locally but globally, the area has come to be regarded as the birthplace of humanity.

The area is as beautiful as it is rich in natural history. At weekends cyclists and day-trippers flock to the highveld grasslands to traverse its undulations and enjoy its beauty.

And while there are a number of accommodation options in the area, one can lay claim to being the only hotel in the world situated on two active paleoanthropological sites where hominid fossils are currently being unearthed.

WELCOME TO THE CRADLE

When it opened in 2016, the Cradle Boutique Hotel’s marketing was aimed at South Africans — a strategy that served it well during the struggles of Covid. In time, it’s earned itself a reputation as a popular weekend getaway on a 9,000ha nature reserve.

The free-standing en-suite rooms, connected with pathways serviced by golf carts, and the Cradle Restaurant have been built into a hillside with unobstructed views of the Magalies Mountains — one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth. The view from your private viewing deck greets you as you sip your first cup of coffee in the morning or as the sun dips into twilight, to the sound of birdsong.

The newest additions to the hotel are six eco-friendly sky rooms. Constructed from shipping containers and raised on stilts to reduce their environmental impact, they feature the best views in the resort, with the added luxury of KolKol wood-fired hot tubs on their decks. Want your’s fired up? Just remember to WhatsApp reception two hours before planning to slip into the silky waters.

The eco-friendly vibe is present throughout the property. You’ll feel less guilty soaking in your bathtub — or whiling away in the hot tub if staying in a sky room — knowing the greywater is used to water the garden. Even the natural wetland swimming pool is free of chemicals.

BACK TO OUR ROOTS

For a better understanding of the discoveries of the origins of humans in the area, the Malapa Museum is an excellent starting point.

Housed on the reserve next to the Cradle Restaurant, the museum contains enough to be informative but to forestall boredom. Bite-sized pieces of information are delivered through films, interactive displays, dioramas and reconstructions.

Learn about animal species such as false sabre tooth cats and giant hyenas that roamed the highveld millions of years ago; view a replica of the nearly 2-million-year-old fossilised skeleton of the famous Australopithecus sediba hominin species; watch a fossil being prepared through the window to the on-site fossil preparation laboratory; and discover the presence of Australopithecus sediba in pop culture.

Guests who prefer a more immersive experience can book a private guided Malapa Human Origins Tour of the two renowned fossil dig sites on the reserve, Malapa and Gladysvale. This is the only opportunity to view the ongoing excavations at Malapa — the site where Australopithecus sediba was discovered in 2008 — from a specially designed viewing platform.

TAKE A DRIVE

There is also much to be discovered on a game drive through the property. The reserve is home to a number of antelope species, giraffe, zebra, monkeys that keep the staff on their toes in the restaurant and even leopards. Its rich bird life has prompted guide Grant Egen to enter into talks with BirdLife SA to class the reserve as a preferred birding destination.

More recently, the Cradle Boutique Hotel has gained a reputation as a filming location for the new Shaka Zulu series, Shaka iLembe, starring Lemogang Tsipa as King Shaka, Nthando Zondi as a younger Shaka and Nomzamo Mbatha as Shaka’s mother, Queen Nandi.

Passing the set on a recent drive, it was clear why the location works for the film, with the distant rolling vista recalling that of the Valley of a Thousand Hills. And no cost was spared when it came to detail: huts were hand-woven from straw collected in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

September is the perfect month to visit for more than just the heritage aspect as spring brings the reserve to life. Blossoms adorn the wild pear and coral trees and green shoots start to spread like filaments across the landscape. Warmer temperatures mean summer dresses and T-shirts with the promise of blistering heat in the months to come.

And just in case you momentarily forget the significance of this space, you might pass a rock with fossilised stromatolites — primitive one-celled organisms and one of the first life forms. The phenomenon is both humbling and astounding; we have come so far yet remain a speck in the grander scheme of things.

GETAWAY AT A GLANCE

Where it is: The Cradle Boutique Hotel is a 45-minute drive from Joburg and a 10-minute drive from Lanseria International Airport.

Accommodation: The property has 31 rooms and suites, including the self-catering owner’s suite, which can sleep two people plus a child. .

Activities: Guests can book the guided Malapa Human Origins Tour (from R1,500 pp; children R750), game drives (from R375 pp) and nature walks (from R300 pp). Special tours are offered for children who can join the Cradle Explorers Club and complete a nature walk and educational experience to qualify for their Explorer’s Certificate. The Malapa Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8am-5pm (adults pay R80; children R60). For some pampering, book a spa treatment in your room.

Rates: Rates start from R4,000 for a luxury room (R4,200 including breakfast and R4,900 including breakfast and dinner).

Contact: For more information or to make a booking, phone 087-353-9599, email reservations@thecradle.co.za or visit the website. 

• Oberholzer was a guest of Cradle Boutique Hotel