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World Heritage sites
Robben
Island
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a
place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here that
rulers sent those they regarded as political troublemakers, social
outcasts and the unwanted of society.
Attractions on Robben Island
1. Maximum security prison
The sprawling Robben Island Maximum Security Prison was built in the early
1960s. The prison was built over graves from the leper period with slate
dug from the stone quarries by the prisoners themselves.
The Maximum Security Prison soon became known as the 'hell-hole' of
apartheid. Nelson Mandela described it as 'without question the harshest,
most iron-fisted outpost of the South African penal system'.
2. The Kramat
The kramat next to the prison commemorates one of the founders of Islam in
South Africa. Sheikh Madura was exiled in the 1740's and died on Robben
Island
3. The Lime quarry
The lime quarry was made famous by the political prisoners who worked
there regularly with pick and spade in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Quarried lime was used to resurface the Island's roads.
4. The stone quarry
The stone quarry is situated in the northern shores of the island, close
to the water's edge. The site has been known for over 200 years and
probably longer.
For more information visit:
www.robben-island.org.za
St Lucia
Wetlands
Park
About the St Lucia Wetlands
A very special slice of Africa. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park offers
visitors some of the most diverse wildlife and outdoor experiences
imaginable. This unique, 38 000 ha expanse of lake, islands and estuary,
incorporates an astonishing variety of habitats ranging from the Lebombo
mountains to grasslands, forests, wetlands, mangroves and vegetated dunes,
with magnificent beaches and coral reefs.
Migrant whales and dolphins cavorting along the coast, leatherback and
loggerhead turtles, nesting on the beaches at night in summer, add to the
park's special attractions. The 260 000 ha park is internationally
recognised as a world Heritage site, and two sections have been registered
as wetlands of International significance under the Ramsar convention.
Contact Details:
KZN Wildlife
Tel 27 33 845 1000
Fax 27 33 845 1001
email:
bookings@kznwildlife.com
uKhahlamba
Drakensburg
About the Drakensberg
Standing on top of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg mountains, you feel as if
you are standing on top of the world. The rich Drakensberg mountain
splendour envelops you: craggy peaks and sandstone cliffs, cascading
waterfalls and crystal clear streams, sheltered caves and sweeping
grasslands. uKhahlamba-Drakensberg park is a place of world significance.
This world Heritage Site is one of south Africa's premier eco-tourism
destinations, and the mountains which rise to altitudes exceeding 3000
metres, the world-famous Amphitheatre at Royal Natal National Park
the scenic splendour of the southern Drakensberg, and the thousands of
examples of San Rock Art which richly decorate numerous caves throughout
the mountains, continue to draw and fascinate people from all over the
globe.
uKhahlamba-Drakensberg park is the majestic home of a significant
population of rare and beautiful Bearded vulture, and herds of
stately Eland antelope. Floral splendour covers the hills and mountains in
season, and vivid shades of summer green and winter gold decorate the
hills over the year.
Recreation
There is a wealth of recreational opportunities to match the scenic
splendour all around. Quietly ambling along a self- guided trail or
peacefully fishing in a river or dam, rock-climbing or mountain biking,
camping, hiking, bird watching, swimming, riding, painting, photography or
simply reveling in the clear mountain air while you take in the
breathtaking vistas around you are some of the many activities to enjoy.
Tourist facilities in the park include many clearly marked day walks from
all the major camps in the park, the self-guided National Hiking way in
the southern Drakensberg, and a fabulous wealth of internationally
acclaimed rock art sites.
Accommodation
Accommodation options in the park are equally diverse. These range from
luxury lodges or fully equipped cottages and chalets to scenic camping
sites with well-appointed picnic and ablution facilities.
Contact Details:
KZN Wildlife
Tel 27 33 845 1000
Fax 27 33 845 1001
email:
bookings@kznwildlife.com
Mapungubwe
Mapungubwe: SA's lost city of gold
One thousand years ago, Mapungubwe in Limpopo province was the centre of
the largest kingdom in the sub-continent, where a highly sophisticated
people traded gold and ivory with China, India and Egypt. The Iron-Age
site, discovered in 1932 but kept under wraps by the apartheid government,
has been declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
What survives are the almost untouched remains of the palace sites and
also the entire settlement area dependent upon them, as well as two
earlier capital sites, the whole presenting an unrivalled picture of the
development of social and political structures over some 400 years, Unesco
said.
Mapungubwe was home to an advanced culture of people for the time the
ancestors of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They traded with China and
India, had a flourishing agricultural industry, and grew to a population
of around 5 000.
Mapungubwe is probably the earliest known site in southern Africa where
evidence of a class-based society existed (Mapungubwe's leaders were
separated from the rest of the inhabitants).
"Findings in the area are typical of the Iron Age. Smiths created objects
of iron, copper and gold for practical and decorative purposes both for
local use and for trade. Pottery, wood, ivory, bone, ostrich eggshells,
and the shells of snails and freshwater mussels, indicate that many other
materials were used and traded with cultures as far away as East Africa,
Persia, Egypt, India and China."
Mapungubwe's fortune only lasted until about 1300, after which time
climate changes, resulting in the area becoming colder and drier, led to
migrations further north to Great Zimbabwe.
Cradle of
Humankind
The Site lies mainly in the Gauteng province with a small extension into
the neighboring North-West province, and covers 47 000 hectares of land
mostly privately owned. The Cradle of Humankind Site comprises a strip of
a dozen dolomitic limestone caves containing the fossillised remains of
ancient forms of animals, plants and most importantly, hominids (i.e.
members of the human family). The dolomite in which the caves formed,
started out as coral reefs growing in a worm shallow sea about 2.3 billion
years ago.
At least seven of the twelve sites have yielded hominid remains. In fact,
together these cave sites have produced over 850 hominid fossil remains,
so that to date they represent one of the world's richest concentrations
of fossil hominid- bearing sites. The scientific value of this area lies
in the fact that these sites provide us with a window into the past, to a
time when our earliest ancestors were evolving and changing. Scientists
have long accepted that all humans had their origins in Africa.
Contact details
At present only the Sterkfontein Caves and the Wonder Cave are open to the
public:
Sterkfontein Caves +27 (11) 956-6342
Wonder Cave -+27 (II) 957-0106
e-mail:
cradleofhumankind@gov.za
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