Brainy Bellas birthday arrived and (as per the trend set by
Bossy and Bubbly) she decided that the Bellas should head out to the Cradle of
Humankind to celebrate. Work deadlines, cracked ribs, and visitors conspired to
delay the expedition by almost two months. However, eventually, the long
awaited morning arrived.
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| The Barefoot Bellas (feat. Archbishop Tutu) |
Ensuring the camera was fully charged and walking shoes were
tightly laced up, the Bellas departed in high spirits. First order of the day
was to drive the 20 or so kilometres to Maropeng - one of nine sites (along
with the Sterkfontein Caves) that form the Cradle of Humankind. The recently
constructed heritage museum is situated near Hekpoort on a large farm dedicated
to archaeological explorations.
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| Thought provoking quote at Maropeng |
The entrance to the museum is a long curving corridor that
descends from the currently known beginning of the Universe, past the formation
of our Solar System, and through a brief history of life on Earth. At the
bottom of the corridor the Bellas hesitantly got into a boat – dreading a
turbulent water park ride. Despite a few splashes, the ride is peaceful and
moves from ice, through volcanoes, fossils in rocks, to jungle foliage. Next
comes a vertiginous walkway through spinning pinpoints of light - Brainy
Bella’s favourite part of the museum.
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| The Tumulus - which holds the museum |
The museum proper is a large concrete hall filled with
interactive exhibits ranging from a dodo’s answering machine, to the genetic
lottery, and evolutionary pathways. Replicas of fossils found around the world that
provide the story of human evolution hang in Perspex spheres from the ceiling,
and life size models of hominids accompany stories of their discovery. The back
wall is covered in quotes and facts about modern times.
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| The Genetic Lottery! |
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| Bubbly Bella contemplates an ancestor :p |
The Bellas exited, blinking in the sunlight, after spending
nearly three hours inside. On the way to the restaurant above the museum for lunch, we discovered the
footprints of many notable dignitaries, including the Most Reverend Desmond
Tutu and Thabo Mbeki. A fruitless search for Nelson Mandela’s footprint and
delicious lunch later, we headed to the Sterkfontein Caves. Brainy Bella had
last visited the Caves more than ten years previously and was looking forward
to seeing them again.
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| Archbishop Tutu's footprint |
The tour of the Caves starts in a small museum, refreshing the
information presented at Maropeng. Then, equipped with hard hats, the short
walk to the Cave entrance began. We were informed at the start that there are
about 300 steps down and almost 500 steps back up at the end. For most of the
descent there was a crack of bright blue sky high above us, an almost
disconcerting contrast to the darkness. Within a few steps the temperature
drops (to a near constant 15°C) and the only light comes from the lanterns strung up
at irregular intervals.
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| Surprisingly this does nothing to alleviate the darkness |
We walk (or stumble) through caverns of limestone sculptures
– an elephant, the three kings, broken pillars – until we come to the edge of a
vast underground lake. This stretches under most of Johannesburg and is treacherously
deep in some places. Swimming is strictly forbidden.
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| The limestone elephant |
From the lake we crawl and slide through a narrow passageway
before passing the site of the latest excavation (an antelope) and beginning
the long climb back to daylight. Out of breath and relieved to be above ground
again, yet strangely reluctantly, the Bellas leave the cool darkness behind. The
strange timelessness of being underground dissipated and the Bellas headed home tired,
but happy.
Much love and light
The Bellas
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