Maropeng, the official visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind , scooped seven of the 60 awards at the West Rand Tourism Awards ceremony on Tuesday night, September 29, 2009.

The event, which highlights service excellence in the tourism industry, was held at the Silver Star Casino. This year there were 163 entries for the awards, double what was received last year.

Master of Ceremonies Bongani Bingwa said, “We are here to celebrate and recognise those who make a difference in the tourism sector.”

Maropeng’s awards were:

• Maropeng Hotel – established hotel/lodge accommodation – winner in the 4-star category
• Maropeng Visitor Centre – best tourism destination – winner
• Maropeng Conference Centre – Mese category – finalist
• Maropeng Ramalepa, Maropeng Tourist Guide won the Site Guides – trophy for excellence
• Reuben Tsime, Maropeng Tourist Guide – certificate for outstanding work
• Portia Mogamisi, Maropeng Tourist Guide – finalist certificate
• Zodwa Mtshali, Maropeng Tourist Guide – finalist certificate

To read more, please click here.

It’s the season to be jolly and what better way to spend it than having your Christmas Day lunch at the Maropeng Hotel or the Tumulus Restaurant?

Our chefs have prepared a festive Christmas menu that is guaranteed to have your tastebuds singing a merry tune. So come and celebrate with us – we promise a cracker of a good time!

Bookings for the lunches are now open. Please click here for more information on the Maropeng Hotel lunch and here for the Tumulus Restaurant lunch.

Those looking for the perfect December getaway, look no further: the Maropeng Hotel will be running an accommodation special for the entire month!

Peace, serenity and fresh country air is what awaits you at the luxurious Maropeng Hotel, an hour’s drive from Pretoria and Johannesburg.

With Christmas around the corner, treat yourself to this festive offer, which includes bed and breakfast, supper and a combined tour of Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves for only R835 per person.

For more information and to make a booking, please click here.

Make it an extraordinary night by having your matric farewell at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind , in the year the Cradle celebrates its 10th year of being a World Heritage Site.

The sophisticated Tumulus building at Maropeng, with its modern architectural structure and interior, is complemented by our professional and friendly staff, who will assist you in creating an event to remember.

We recommend that you book early to avoid disappointment. Call us on +27 14 577 9000 or email reservation@maropeng.co.za to book your unforgettable matric farewell today!

Maropeng provides the perfect venue to treat your staff to a memorable year-end function.

Our dedicated and creative events team will take over the hassle of organisation. All you need to do is tell them what you would like and they will make it happen.

Take your staff on an adventurous journey of discovery, through the ancient past, right up to the present and beyond. The adventure through the exhibition starts with an underground boat ride that takes you back 4-billion years in geological time, through the basic elements that make up our world: water, air, fire and earth.

But the journey doesn’t stop there. Still to come is the birth of the Cradle of Humankind, the path to humanity, a reflection on what makes us uniquely human today, and so much more.

All you need to do is e-mail our reservation office on reservation@maropeng.co.za or call +27 14 577 9000 to make a booking – it couldn't be easier.

Summer has arrived, and it’s a pleasure to spend an evening under the stars at Maropeng.

Escape the bright city lights and join us for our monthly stargazing evenings in the Cradle of Humankind.

Due to popular demand, Maropeng will be holding two stargazing events in October.

Maropeng’s resident astronomer, Vincent Nettmann, host of the evenings, amazes his audiences with his use of the “wow factor”, adding in mind-boggling facts and amusing bits of galactic trivia.

After the presentation, the audience will be able to put their new-found knowledge into practice, gazing through a range of large-aperture telescopes. Many of the sky’s wonders will be visible through the telescopes.

Each stargazing evening has a different theme.

Guests attending stargazing on October 3 at the Maropeng Hotel will go on a voyage of discovery as they retrace the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969.

Forty years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (now both retired) descended on the moon from the Apollo 11, and explored the moon’s surface for 2.5 hours. For more information and to make a booking, please click here.

Guests attending stargazing on October 17 at the Tumulus Restaurant will explore our fascination with astronomy. The evening’s theme is “Stars: man and astronomy, their time and place in the universe”.

We’ll be looking back to when humans first started studying the stars, and how the study of astronomy has progressed through the ages. For more information and to make a booking, please click here.

The Maropeng Hotel will be running an accommodation special coinciding with the stargazing evening on October 17. Why not spend the night in a luxurious room after an evening under the stars?

Please note: Telescope viewing is weather dependent.

Other stargazing events will take place this year:

• November 14 at the Maropeng Hotel – An introduction to our summer skies.
• November 21 at the Tumulus Restaurant – Astronomy in South Africa: a brief history of astronomy and astronomers.

When her father left them, Johanna Mbewe, her mother and her four siblings had nowhere to go, so the street became their home.

With cardboard and plastic bags as blankets, they lived under a bridge in Randfontein. This was what life was like until someone offered her mother a job, which meant they would have a roof over their heads and Johanna could go to school.

Today she is a Receptionist at Maropeng Hotel. She heard about the vacancy from someone in her community, and applied for the job. She had to walk many miles to find the hotel, but when she found it she knew the job was for her.

Read the full story here.

Want to learn more about the Maropeng family? Why not visit our staff page?

You’ll get to know the tour guide who took you through the wonders of Maropeng with bright enthusiasm, the chef who delighted your taste buds, and many more of our people.

Get to know the Maropeng family by clicking here.