This site outside Potgietersrus has yielded hundreds of thousands of fossils including Austalopithecus africanus, our apeman ancestor.

Guided tours of Makapansgat start at the Arend Dieperinke Museum in Potgietersrus, a cultural history museum that has a comprehensive display of Sotho and Voortrekker artefacts, as well as fascinating records of the apemen of Makapansgat and the San people who once traversed this area.

The oldest of the sites is Makapansgat Limeworks. The Cave of Hearths shows signs of human occupation from the Early Stone Age, while Hyena Cave has revealed the remains of early hyenas.

The Historic Cave is famous for the clash between the local Langa and Ndebele people and the Piet Potgieter expedition in 1854. Chief Makapan and his tribespeople was besieged in the cave for nearly a month and hundreds died of hunger or were shot. Excavations have revealed Iron Age and Mfecane relics.

Peppercorn's Cave has an underground lake and is home to a large colony of migratory long-fingered bats, while Buffalo Cave has revealed the remains of an extinct buffalo.

Scientist Raymond Dart believed that evidence from the Makapansgat site showed that modern man had descended from a tribe of killer apes but this has since been disproved.

Makapansgat is just 19km from Potgietersrus.
Tel: (015) 4918458

Other things to do:
Arend Diepbrink Museum
Cultural history museum with palaeontology display. Guided tours to nearby Makapansgat caves
Old Klip School, Main Road, Potgietersrus

In Potgietersrus:
The Doorndraaidam Nature Reserve offers fishing, water sports, hiking, camping and birdwatching.

Early and Middle Stone Age tools have been discovered at the scenic Skoonheid Donga. It can be found just 2km north of Chuniespoort where the Chunies River flows through the Strydpoort Mountains.

For more information contact:

Great North Tourism
Tel: (015) 288 0099

Places to stay:
Thabapashwa, meaning "the black and white mountain", offers a series of rustic, self-catering tree houses set in a reserve about 18km north of Potgietersrus.
Tel: (015) 491-5882

Percy Fyfe Nature Reserve - a 2 500ha reserve north of Potgietersrus that offers an impressive diversity of plant and animal species. There are camping facilities, as well as hikes and walking trails.
Tel: (015) 491-5678

Rietbokspruit Cottages has charming self-catering cottages set on a family farm just outside Naboomspruit in the foothills of the Waterberg mountains. Breakfasts available on request.
Tel: (014) 743-2525

For further information on accommodation, tours and bookings, contact the Potgietersrus Tourism Info Centre.
Tel: (015) 491-8458