2008: Looking back with pride;
forward with anticipation

What a phenomenal year we've had! With lots of awards won, our new website launched and a number of great fossil exhibits opened, 2008 has shaped up better than we could have imagined.

In May we took top honours at the 2008 Welcome Awards, in the Tourist Attraction category. The awards, an initiative by South African Tourism in association with the Tourism Grading Council and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, were introduced three years ago to recognise service excellence in tourism, in particular those companies and individuals that offer travellers an authentic African experience and go the extra mile to deliver service excellence.

Then in June we launched our new website. The new site emphasises all that visitors can expect at Maropeng: two world-class exhibitions, the Maropeng Visitor Centre and Sterkfontein Caves , a 4-star boutique hotel, restaurants and the conference venue.

For the third year running, Maropeng hosted the national Heritage Day celebrations. This year's theme was "Celebrating Our Dance, Our Heritage", while previous years have focused on music and poetry. Minister of Arts and Culture Dr Pallo Jordan was in attendance and addressed the crowd, saying "There could be no more appropriate a place than Maropeng for this celebration."

We were pleased to come out tops in a number of categories of the Westrand Tourism Awards, held in October. About 20 Maropeng staff members attended the prize-giving event and proudly took home six awards, including the Accommodation Hotel award and three tourist guide prizes. Sterkfontein and the Maropeng Visitor Centre received first and second place awards respectively in the Activities category.

In November Gauteng’s new logo was launched by Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile, at Maropeng, and Gauteng talk radio station Radio 702 broadcasted live from Maropeng, bringing the history of humankind to hundreds of thousands of Gauteng listeners of the John Robbie Show. 

Most recently, we opened a new exhibition in the Maropeng’s Original Fossil Display, entitled Paranthropus in Context. See below for details.

Next year we will host three more exciting exhibitions, the details of which are still being confirmed. Keep reading your newsletters for these details as they become available.

We want to take this opportunity to thank our staff, board, associates and, of course, you, for your support throughout the year.

We wish you all a wonderful festive season, and we look forward to seeing you in 2009!

Maropeng Hotel offers holiday special
(Dec 12 - Jan 11)

The Maropeng Hotel is running a special offer for visitors during the festive season. Until January 11, 2009, guests of the Maropeng Hotel can take advantage of an unbelievable deal.

Guests can enjoy a night in the luxurious hotel, including dinner and breakfast, and take in both the Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves tours, for only R775 per night per person sharing.

Paranthropus in Context exhibition
(Dec 6, 2008 - Mar 6, 2009)

Come and see for yourself what makes Paranthropus so special. From December 6 2008 until March 6 2009, Maropeng presents original Paranthropus fossils from various sites in the Cradle of Humankind, and others of Homo and other species of animals that lived at the same time in a fascinating new exhibition entitled Paranthropus in Context.

Thanks to generous loans from the Transvaal Museum/Northern Flagship Institution and the Bernard Price Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, the general public will be able to view these magnificent fossil specimens up close. These fossils only very rarely go on display – some have only been displayed a few times since their discovery.

The exhibition is to be housed in Maropeng’s Original Fossil Display. The highlights include:

• Fossils of both Paranthropus and early Homo – what scientists believe to be our direct ancestors – which coexisted in the Cradle of Humankind about 2-million years ago.
• Bone tools that either or both of these species may have made.
• The original burnt bone material that proved that the first evidence of controlled use of fire in Southern Africa was at Swartkrans, in the Cradle of Humankind. Yes, we in Gauteng have been braaiing for more than 1-million years! Scientists generally accept that it was Homo, not Paranthropus, that was controlling this fire.

The price of admission is included in the normal ticket cost for Maropeng.

Voyage to the stars with Maropeng
(Dec 6 - Jan 11)

Aspiring astronauts and space explorers of all ages are invited to join Maropeng for an expedition to the stars. Maropeng has been granted the rights to host the StarLab, a portable inflatable planetarium providing children and young adults with an opportunity to learn more about the fascinating topic of astronomy. It is kindly on loan from the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) from December 6 until January 11, with lift-off just in time for the school holidays.

Sunday carvery lunches

Maropeng has launched regular Sunday carvery lunches at the Tumulus Restaurant. The carvery includes a choice of two roasts, salads and desserts. There will also be musical entertainment on hand for guests to enjoy.

The Sunday carvery lunches will be available every Sunday from 12h00 to 15h00 at a cost of R110 per adult. Bookings can be made with Sylvia at sylviam@maropeng.co.za or on 014 577 9012.

St Valentine's Day stargazing (Feb 14)

Bookings are now open for the St Valentine's Day Stargazing event. The Maropeng Hotel offers an evening under the stars with your special someone and dinner - a perfect romantic night out. Booking is essential as space is limited.

Other stargazing events will be held March 14, April 18, May 23, and many more dates in the following months.

The Tumulus Restaurant will also be offering a Valentine's Day dinner.

Contact Sylvia on sylviam@maropeng.co.za or 014 577 9000 for all bookings, and further information. Directions are available on www.maropeng.co.za.

Thank you for all your support in 2008, and here's wishing you a fabulous year in 2009!

Read what other Maropeng visitors had to say:

"Many thanks for all your assistance in creating a wonderful Questek year-end function at Maropeng.

I've had positive feedback from everybody in our company. It has been a pleasure dealing with such a professional events department and in particular with you, Sazi.

I look forward to the opportunity of working with you again in the future."

Rene Brummage – Marketing Manager, Questek

"On behalf of Atos Management and staff, l would like to thank Maropeng for the awesome service and the delicious food.

The Maropeng staff assigned to assist us were all amazing, and made it possible for us to enjoy our function. "

Jackie Ndlovu – Atos Management

The Maropeng website has a comprehensive gallery section, covering many of the stimulating visuals in the Maropeng Visitor Centre and at Sterkfontein Caves.

Grab a glimpse of what the exhibitions offer before you experience them first hand, peek into the bedrooms of the luxurious boutique hotel, see what a memorable event a wedding at Maropeng can be …

There is so much to see at Maropeng and the online gallery delivers the highlights in an accessible way to previous, future or online visitors.

At Maropeng, we pride ourselves on our educational focus. We cater for school groups to Maropeng itself, as well as to Sterkfontein Caves, our sister site. Read about why the Cradle of Humankind is an important part of anyone’s education, no matter their age, in our Education section.

Contact Sylvia on info@maropeng.co.za or
014 577 9000 for bookings, menus and further information. Booking is essential for presentations and special events as space is limited. Directions are available on www.maropeng.co.za.

Submit your images to the Maropeng Flickr group

Maropeng has started a new group on Flickr, a popular photo-sharing website. The group is called the Cradle of Humankind and invites users to share images from the Cradle, including Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves.

We were so impressed with the quality and range of images submitted that we have incorporated a feed of images on to the front page of our website, which links back to the images in the Flickr group.

We invite you to submit your images to the Flickr group, or visit the group by clicking here.

Download our screensaver and enjoy the stunning visuals of Maropeng from your desk

Return to your desk after a few minutes away, and see a stunning image of Maropeng’s picturesque setting, overlooking the Witwatersberg and Magaliesberg mountains.

Our new site offers visitors the opportunity to download a free Maropeng screensaver, available in formats suitable for both Mac and PC users.

The screensaver offers a range of images of Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves, showing the Tumulus building, the magnificent vistas of the area, and the boutique hotel, as well as images of the exhibitions themselves.