Muldersdrift

Muldersdrift is a stretch of smallholdings, lodges and function venues in the Kromdraai Valley, about 27 km north-west of Johannesburg, on the Crocodile River between the city and the Magaliesberg. It is not a town you come to see for itself. It is useful because it sits inside the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and close to Lanseria airport, so it makes a green, quiet base for the fossil sites without the drive back into the city each night. Gauteng also knows it as its wedding capital.

Getting there

You need a car. Johannesburg is 27 km to the south-east, and Lanseria airport is only about 15 minutes away, which makes it a handy first or last night if you fly in or out of Lanseria.

When to go

Any time of year. The things most people come for, the caves and the Maropeng visitor centre, are indoors or underground, so weather matters less than it does in the bush.

What to do

The Cradle of Humankind covers 47,000 ha and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. Its two main visitor sites are the Sterkfontein Caves, where the Mrs Ples skull was found in 1947 and the Little Foot skeleton in 1997, and Maropeng, the official visitor centre, opened in 2005, with fossil and stone tool displays and an underground boat ride. At Sterkfontein a guide leads you through the cave system on a walk of about 2 km. Both open from 09:00 to 17:00, according to Wikivoyage.

Closer to Muldersdrift itself is the Wonder Cave, the third largest cave in South Africa, Its one huge chamber could swallow a rugby field. Getting down means a 40 m ride in an open-sided lift, unless you would rather abseil. Nearby there are talks at an observatory, and the area also offers hot air ballooning, horse riding, fly-fishing and hiking.

Good to know

The name dates from 1866, when the Mulder family camped by the river because floods stopped them crossing the drift, on the old wagon route from Pretoria to Potchefstroom. The area was farmland from the 1840s. Today it has more than 40 wedding and conference venues, so when booking a weekend stay it is sensible to ask whether a function is on. Gilroy’s Brewery, Silverstar Casino and the Cradlestone Mall are also in the area.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikipedia (Cradle of Humankind), Wikivoyage (Cradle of Humankind), Maropeng (official Cradle of Humankind visitor centre), SA-Venues (Muldersdrift).