Johannesburg - Maropeng, Setswana for “returning to the place of our origin”, is the companion site to the Sterkfontein Caves and the Cradle of Humankind.
Looking disconcertingly like the Teletubbies’s headquarters, the Tumulus building hosts a wonderfully interactive underground museum that takes you back to the beginning of creation.
The boat ride through a spooky tunnel past trompe l’oeil water features you feel sure will douse you at any moment, icebergs and roaring volcanoes is a must for the youngsters in your party.
The entire exhibition is kid-friendly, yet information-rich, with replicas of artefacts from the digs, including the skulls of sabre-toothed tigers and hominids, suspended in giant perspex bobbles.
There’s even a display showing the different Homo species, illustrating their relative sizes, including Neanderthals, which I was fascinated to discover only occurred in Europe – I was always convinced there was a tribe of them living on in the shadow of Loftus Versfeld.
But as entertaining as the display is, it is overwhelming. I came away from my first visit not knowing my Darts from my Brooms.
The second time I visited, it all made perfect sense after emerging from the caves at Sterkfontein.
And therein lies the answer. There’s a special price on tickets if you visit both sites. It’s worth it because the one makes sense of the other, plus, for plebs like me, there’s a wonderful curio shop at the end where you can buy a replica of Mrs Ples’s skull to gaze at while looking for inspiration for your next article.
Saturday Star