Archaeology Tour: Description

Peel away the patina of time when visiting landmark sites in ruggedly beautiful South African landscapes. Follow the footsteps of the earliest of humans while travelling in the company of informative experts.

In the Cape trace the artistic legacy of the San Bushmen, an ancient hunter-gatherer people in their evocative rock art paintings. On this Cape Insights archaeological tour you will walk around pristine sites, some dating back 10,000 years, and find out how they survived for thousands of years until the arrival of the colonisers.

On the way to Bushmans Kloof, a refuge renowned for its unparalleled rock art displays … gain insight into the San/Bushmen heritage and folklore from cultural interpreters who share their tracking skills, hunting methods and botanical know how … see where ‘Eve’ left her footprints in the sand some 117, 000 year ago  … visit a site that contains the greatest diversity of five-million year old fossils in the world … hear about shore line excavations that have revealed significant artefacts left by Middle and Late Stone Age inhabitants.

In the Cape Winelands uncover the impact of colonisation and its legacies on this small group Cultural tour. Explore 8,000 years of history and archaeology in a window-in-time museum housed in a 1740 wine cellar, stroll around the country’s premier wine estate, and relax in gardens landscaped on the Dutch East India Company’s design.

In Johannesburg examine recent archaeological fossil finds that unlock our understanding of the genus Homo. Visit a scene-setting museum before exploring an active dig in the Cradle of Humankind and UNESCO World Heritage site that has enabled us to decode the span of evolution that stretches back some 3.5 million years.

In the Cradle of Humankind celebrate your last night, reflecting on the words of Pliny the Elder ‘’Out of Africa ~ Always Something New’’. Contemplate the theory that mankind’s African ancestors were using skills more advanced than mere stone tool-making some forty thousand years before Homo sapiens in Europe started decorating cave walls in France and Spain.

Opt for a safari in Bostwana that offers insights into the unique culture – and fast vanishing way of life of the Kalahari Bushmen, while staying in a luxurious mobile tented camp and encountering meerkats, the elusive brown hyena and black maned lions. Engage with Bushmen trackers as they offer a window into the past when sharing their ancient knowledge and survival skills.