Kromdraai, West Rand, Gauteng - Property, Accommodation and Conference Venues

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Kromdraai in the West Rand Region of Gauteng, South Africa
Kromdraai is a protected conservancy in the West Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa not far from Krugersdorp. It name is derived from Afrikaans meaning "Crooked Turn" after a kink in the meandering Crocodile River. A well known fossil site is also named Kromdraai and it, along with such sites as Sterkfontein, Coopers, Swartkrans and Plovers Lake form part of the conservancy. Part of the Kromdraai conservancy also falls within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, proclaimed by UNESCO in 1998.

The Kromdraai Fossil Site is a fossil-bearing breccia filled cave located about 2km east of the well known South African hominid-bearing site of Sterkfontein and about 45km Northwest of the City of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is situated within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. In 1938 The site was brought to the attention of Robert Broom by a local schoolboy named Gert Terrblanche who had discovered several hominin teeth. The teeth formed part of a skull that would become the holotype of Paranthropus robustus. Broom began excavations at the site that would continue until approximately 1947 and would result in the discovery of numerous hominin remains. Two deposits were noted and named at the site - Kromdraai A and Kromdraai B - the latter being the site where the hominin remains were recovered. In 1955 C.K. Brain recommenced work at Kromdraai B and discovered numerous additional hominin remains as well as abundant non-hominin fauna.

In 1980's Elizabeth Vrba briefly conducted excavations at Kromdraai B in order to recover additional samples for her work on South African bovids. In 1993 excavations were re-opened by Francis Thackeray of the Transvaal Museum and Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand. They were later joined by teams from Harvard University and other collaborators. Important results of this work have been the recovery of additional hominin fossils as well as the obtaining of more accurate dates for the site.

The Wondercave is located in the internationally known valley of Kromdraai within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, amidst famous palaeontological sites containing the oldest relics of mankind. The Wondercave is surrounded by game farms with an abundance of both wild- and birdlife. This natural wonder, only open to the public since 1991, boasts an enormous single chamber which one enters by elevator beside walls decorated with beautiful formations up to 15m high.

 

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