CHAMPAGNE SPORTS RESORT

ituated in the tranquility of the Central Drakensberg, boasting the most spectacular views of Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak, travellers will discover the beautiful oasis that is Champagne Sports Resort.

This cosy hideaway’s unique combination of convenient location, country club atmosphere, luxury accommodation and friendly staff makes packing your bags to leave this eternal place a challenge.

Champagne Sports Resort is more than a hotel in the mountains, it is an experience. From the 18-hole championship golf course to the roaming herds of Blesbok and Impala and the rare birdlife that inhabit the estate, there is always something spectacular for everyone to enjoy.

And, with five dams stocked with either bass or trout, as well as outstanding sporting facilities and cultural activities, this enduring S

resort provides a balance between recreation for sports enthusiasts and tranquility for those seeking relaxation.

The resort offers a variety of superb, fully serviced accommodation. The 152 hotel bedrooms are made up of twin rooms, family rooms, and various suites, all with well-appointed bedrooms and either mountain views or garden views.

From the moment you arrive at their front door you will feel the stress of the city has been left far behind.

Self-contained, free standing thatched cottages provide the finest accommodation, and delectable fare and sumptuous banquets coupled with every possible creature comfort makes Champagne Sports Resort the ultimate mountain experience.

Champagne Sports Resort has a Conference and Exhibition Centre with 16 conference venues. The Wellness Centre features an upmarket spa, and the gym has been upgraded with new equipment and a training program.

The spa has five treatment rooms, comfortable change rooms and relaxing rest area with cane loungers looking up at the Champagne and Cathkin Peaks.

The Resorts lush golf course is a top 30 ranked 18-hole championship golf course has been rated as SA’s most beautiful golf course in recent years with the clubhouse rated in the top five 19th holes in SA –a must for the avid golfer!

Central Drakensberg Kwazulu-Natal Tel: +27 36 468 8000 reservations@ champagnesportsresort.com www.champagnesportsresort.com

he Cradle of Humankind, one of eight World Heritage Sites in South Africa, and the only one in Gauteng, is renowned as the place where humankind originated.

It is here that the first hominid, Australopithecus, was found in 1924 at Taung in the North West Province by Professor Raymond Dart of the University of the Witwatersrand. And is one of the major tourist attractions in South Africa.

The Cradle of Humankind area boasts 13 excavation sites that are recognised as national heritage sites, both internationally and by the South African Heritage Resources Agency.

For those wanting to experience the birthplace of humankind firsthand, the official visitor centres for T

the Cradle of Humankind, Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves, are a short drive from Johannesburg.

Maropeng is a world-class exhibition centre that focuses on the development of humans and our ancestors over the past few million years. On arrival, visitors are met by what appears to be a massive burial mound, the entry point into the secrets of humankind’s beginnings. The Sterkfontein Caves, the site of the most longstanding, continuous palaeoanthropological dig in the world, are world-renowned for their fossil finds. These caves have produced the pre-human skull popularly known as “Mrs Ples,” and an almost complete hominid skeleton affectionately known as “Little Foot”.

Recently, the Cradle of Humankind unveiled the partial skeletons of the Australopithecus sediba fossils. These fossils are suspected to be candidates for the transitional species between the southern African ape-man, Australopithecus africanus (of which “the Taung Child” and “Mrs Ples” are examples) and Homo habilis, or even a direct ancestor of Homo erectus.

The two skeletons are of an adult female and a young male, recently named “Karabo”, which means “answer” in seTswana.

Experts suggest there are more discoveries to be made in Sterkfontein Caves and similar sites in the Cradle of Humankind.

Having World Heritage Site status will ensure that this area is protected for many years to come.