DAY TOURS

Competitive rates have been negotiated for day tours by our tour operator, Travel and Conferencing Worldwide. Below you can find general information on the tours and they can be booked directly from the symposium registration site at http://www.nolcos2007.org.za/registration/

Lesedi Cultural Village

Gold Reef City

Soweto Township

Apartheid Museum

De Wildt Cheetah Breeding and Research Centre

Cradle of Humankind

Sterkfontein Caves

Cullinan Diamond Mine and Pretoria City Tour

Pilanesberg and Sun City

This is a multi cultural interactive experience with your host and their families from the Basotho, Ndebele, Pedi, Xhosa and Zulu nations. Share in their culture, myths, fables, beliefs, dancing and music. A must for anyone wanting to know more about Africa!

The tour includes an audio-visual presentation, visits to four homesteads, traditional dancing and singing and a buffet of the finest African cuisine.

View the Johannesburg of more than a century ago at the time of the discovery of gold in South Africa! Descend into a gold mine (not working) for the underground experience by shaft, participate in a gold pour and view some spectacular tribal dancing. For the keen shopper there are also plenty of interesting little shops where curios and precious stone can be found.

Experience the vibrancy and soul of the biggest black township in South Africa and one of the biggest cities on the African continent. Catch a glimpse of the lives of its estimated 3 million residents. This popular tour includes attractions such as the Winnie Mandela and Family House Museum, the Hector Peterson Memorial site, a typical shebeen and taxi rank, a squatter camp (informal settlement), Vista University and the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

This newly built museum next to Gold Reef City illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid. The 22 individual exhibition areas contain film footage, photographs, text panels and artifacts illustrating the events and human stories that are part of the epic saga, known as apartheid.

Visit the Rare and Endangered Species Captive Breeding Centre in the vicinity of Brits. Take a tour of the farm to see the cheetahs at close quarters. See wild dogs, king cheetahs, hyenas and various species of vultures. The tour coincides with feeding time, so you will be able to observe these animals feed in a natural, but controlled, habitat. Advanced booking is recommended.

Combination of the following: Rhino & Lion Park, Maropeng and Sterkfontein Caves.

Rhino & Lion Park - situated in a World Heritage Site, The Cradle of Humankind, this 1 000 hectare park is home to over 700 head of game including white rhino, lion, buffalo, cheetah, wild dog, hippo and crocodile. Their newly built breeding centre houses, inter alia, Bengal and Syberian tigers, jaguars and white lions.

The main building at Maropeng, called the Tumulus emulates an ancient burial mound from the front, and in stark contrast, upon exiting, a very modern iconic structure is revealed. The architecture is symbolic of the journey through the evolution of life that is represented underground in the Visitor Attraction and the entire layout of the individual facilities across the site is based on the theme of constant discovery. An original fossil display and a boat ride on an underground lake through the four life-giving elements that combined to form the earth and shape the world as it is known today, are offered. Sterkfontein Caves - a total of over 700 hominid specimens found here has made Sterkfontein the world's richest hominid site. A section of the caves is visited on an hour long guided tour and the excavation site can be viewed. A small museum displays information about significant findings, as well as general information on human and cultural evolution.

In 1947 a well-preserved skull of a species of early man known as "Plesianthropus trasvaalenssis" was discovered. The skull became known as Mrs. Ples, dating back 2.5-million years. The total of over 700 hominid specimens found here has made Sterkfontein the world's richest hominid site. A section of the caves is visited on an hour long guided tour and the excavation site can be viewed. A small museum displays information about significant findings, as well as general information on human and cultural evolution.

Enjoy a surface tour of the Premier Mine, opened in 1902, where the World's biggest diamond the famous Cullinan Diamond of over 3000 carats was discovered. Premier Mine has produced 255 gem diamonds of over 100 carats, and nearly a quarter of the world's gem diamonds of 400 carats and over! Visitors will see the big hole, the shaft and the diamond room where a selection of uncut diamonds and replicas of world-famous diamonds are displayed. After lunch visit the Voortrekker Monument, erected in memory of the early European settlers, Church Square, with its historical buildings in the heart of the city, Melrose House, where the Peace of Vereeniging was signed in 1092, Kruger House, the residence of the famous President Paul Kruger and the Union buildings with its spectacular terraced gardens and monuments.

A combination of these two worlds allows you to experience unadorned nature and man-made splendour - African wildlife and vibrant Sun City - Africa's Kingdom of Pleasure. The Pilanesberg National Park, the fourth largest National Park in Southern Africa covers an area of 58 000 hectares and is less than 2 hours' drive from all the major centres in the Gauteng Province. Encircling this unique area are four rings of hills; a geological fascinating alkaline complex produced by volcanic action some 1,2 billion years ago. The Park boasts healthy populations of lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo, Africa's Big Five. There is a wide variety of rare and common species. A few of the endemic species that may be seen here are the nocturnal brown hyena, the fleet-footed cheetah, the majestic sable, as well as giraffe, springbok, zebra, hippo and crocodile. Bird-watching is excellent with over 360 species recorded.

This Web site is maintained by Fernando.Camisani@eng.up.ac.za. Please mail us with recommendations.

Last updated: March 02, 2007 16:30:48