The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site comprises a unique band of palaeo-anthropological sites, uncovered as a result of mining for dolomite, which have yielded valuable insight in regard to the origin of modern humans. The site was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999. The Sterkfontein Caves, one of 13 excavated sites, is home to the longest continuous paleaontological dig in the world, dating back to 1936.

Sterkfontein is home to the 2.3 Million years old “Mrs Ples”, discovered in 1947 and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus Africanus hominid dated at 4.17 million years. In October 2003 the Gauteng Provincial Government entered into Public Private Partnership contract valued at R163 million for the construction, design and operation of a world class exhibition and recreational facility showcasing the site.

This Public Private Partnership is the first of its kind, a concession agreement requiring the concessionaire to pay an annual concession fee, which government will invest in community benefit projects and in scientific research. This development comprising visitor facilities at Sterkfontein and Maropeng were officially opened by Deputy President Mlambo Ngcuka and President Mbeki respectively in 2005. Scenic routes connect the site through diverse private sector tourism attractions offering outdoor activities such as hiking, ballooning, fishing, and horse trails; a variety of restaurants and coffee shops and arts and crafts outlets to suit all budgets.

Objectives

Blue IQ’s involvement in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage was on the preservation and conservation of World Heritage as well as the development of strategic economic infrastructure in order to leverage off private sector investment in tourism business activity in the 47000 ha project area.

The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site’s key focus areas are:

• Investment in tourism infrastructure – bulk infrastructure, roads, tourism road signage
• Development of a network of tourism visitor centres through Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs)
• Destination and investment marketing campaigns to encourage tourism flows and investment in tourism
• Facilitation of tourism skills development and tourism enterprise development

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