Wonder Cave & Apartheid Museum – Johannesburg (South Africa)

The Wonder Cave is situated at the cradle of Humankind, World Heritage site (inside Lion Park).

The wonder cave is the third largest natural cave in the country & is believed to be about 2200 million years old. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century by miners who dynamited and excavated limestone for the making of cement.

The cave is 125 meters long, 54 wide & 60 meters deep.

Wonder Cave

Wonder Cave

Entrance by the guided tour only & takes 45 minutes to cover the cave. The pathways are well lit, wide and it is not necessary to clamber or crawl. The 60 meters deep cave can be accessed by the combinations of steps, lift & walk. The first 18 km are covered by steps (45 degrees) , Next 22 km by lift & rest 20 meters by walk.

Way to Cave

Second phase covered by lift

The track used by miners

The cave has about 14 stalactites & stalagmites, formation up to 15 meters. The formation is of different shapes like Mushroom, popcorns, straw, Mother Mary etc.

Mother Mary

Wonder Cave

Different shapes of stalactites & stalagmites

Timing

Weekdays – 08.00 to 16.00 hours
Weekends – 08.00 to 17.00 hours

Ticket Charges

Adult – 60 Rands
Kids – 40 Rands

Last day we had 4-6 hours in our hand before catching the flight to come back to India so we decided to visit the Apartheid Museum. If one has time to just visit one place in Johannesburg then it is suggested to visit the Apartheid Museum. Within three hours one can see and experience the entire history of South Africa.

Apartheid Museum

The museum is located at Gold reef road. It is one of the most important attractions. The basic principle behind apartheid was simple – segregate everything. Cut a clean line through a nation to divide black from white and keep them divided.

Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum is a journey, not a destination. A journey to understanding, freedom & equality.

Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum is dedicated to illustrating rise and fall of apartheid from 1948 to 1994. Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation enforced in South Africa under which the rights of the majority non-white inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed.

On entering the building you are racially classified, you will get the entry ticket printed “white” & Non-white” to give you feel that how much it hurts to classify one on the basis of the skin colour.

Entry ticket printed “White” & Non-white”

Entry Gate – Apartheid Museum

The museum, built on seven hectares & has been assembled and organized by a multi-disciplinary team of architects, curators, film-makers, historians and designers. The exhibition, divided into 22 individual areas, comprises of film footage, photographs, text panels and artefacts illustrating the principal events and also human stories.

After exploring the entire museum, I was impressed by the collection and displays regarding Nelson Mandela’s life and the struggle that South African people transcended.

Apartheid Museum

Timing

Tues. to Sunday- 10.00 – 17.00 hours

Ticket Charges

Adult – 55 Rands
Children – 35 Rands

Please Tip (Comments) Author for Good Post.

21 Comments

  • Again excellent post Maheshjee ,
    That cave was really amazing……………………..
    The last photo is superb ,but i feel comments should be there even if someone does not like the post . It is like fees for reading the post. Author gives that much time from busy schedule . Everyone who reads the post should at least comment for work author has done………………..
    Secondly, Maheshjee I think your Motto in life is ” Whole World should be Explored” .The passion you have in travelling and posting is great . Once I get time I will read all your post………………….

  • Mahesh Semwal says:

    Thanks Vishal for your golden words., I am overwhelmed. One life is short to explore even India. :-)

  • Vibha says:

    Hi Mahesh, Thanks for the enlightening and educating post. The museums idea of randomly seggregating visitors is ingenious. Indeed it must’ve hurt to be regarded differently based on one’s skin color. The time must have been horrible and I’m amazed at the progress the country has made since then. Looking forward to more stories from South Africa.

    • Mahesh Semwal says:

      Thanks Vibha for going through the post & leaving comment. I am sorry to say that this was the last post on Johannesburg , due to the lack of time I was not able to explore Johannesburg thoroughly . May be next year :-)

  • Amit Kumar says:

    Hello Mahesh Ji, the ‘Apartheid Museum’ info was simply superb. I wish something like this would have in our country. Especially the entry system they placed is a very intelligent way to feel that insult. I guess you had less time in your hand otherwise we would have more details.

  • Mahesh Semwal says:

    Thanks Amit !!

    Yes Amit I was having only one and half day, one day was spend on Safari / Cave & half day on Museum / shopping.

  • Sanghamitra says:

    Wonderful post…background history is really overwhelming..

  • Naman says:

    Hello Sir,
    Yet another beautifully written post by you,good to glance through the pics.The caves are damn beautiful. :)

  • AUROJIT says:

    Hi Mahesh,

    REALLY enjoyed the trip across SA.

    Story of three capitals is interesting (perhaps time to lay claim to all our summer and winter capitals, viz Shimla, etc)

    The Lion Park was amazing.

    And that gate across apartheid museum is interesting though debatable.

    Thanks for such an interesting post from half way across the world,

    Auro.

  • Mahesh Semwal says:

    Thanks Dada for your encouraging comments.

  • Nandan says:

    I am lagging behind so could read this now only. Sorry for reading and commenting late but I would try to make up for it through a big comment, including nit-picking.

    The wonder-cave looks same/similar to Patal Bhuvneshwar. When I visited, I had the same thought that if something like this is ever discovered in some other country, then they would really create a wonderful infrastructure around it and make it big on the tourism map. I was expecting a geo-tour at Patal but it was a PURE religious one with stories from all the yugs and what not. It was relieving to read that even in SA they have Mother Mary interpretations of these natural shapes :-). Thank you for taking us there.

    I think, below is not correct. You probably wanted to write meters
    ………The 60 meters deep cave can be accessed by the combinations of steps, lift & walk. The first 18 kms are covered by steps (45 degree) , Next 22 kms by lift & rest 20 meters by walk………

    Remember, I promised in the beginning that there would be some nit picking as well.

    I am also surprised that our readers are not being very alert including the fact that one of us is asking more of SA whereas it was very clear that you didn’t have much time. Anyway, I am hoping that we would get better as readers over time.

    @ Vishal – Real golden words. I think leaving comment is least we should all do. Thats the best thing which can happen to the Author and if you have more things to share then its good for fellow readers as well. Thank You.

    Finally, the info about the museum is really useful. Just like your other travel tales, this one is comprehensive as well in terms of all the information.

    I hope I have lived up to my promise. Let me also request Prof to read this story.

    • Mahesh Semwal says:

      I am glad to see such a long comment, looks like a small post. You are right Nandan , In India there are so many historical & natural site but the maintenance & the publicity of these site are very poor. Our tourism department should come out with some creative ideas to promote such sites.I was shocked when I visited Patna , there were so much to explore but Patna is no where in tourist map, Its sad.

      Thanks for nit picking. You are right its meters not Kilometers. I am sorry for that , I think I have to go twice or trice before publishing the post.

      I too wish that prof read my all post & leave comment. Miss his & Mr. Ram’s comment. Its seems that Mr. Ram is also busy these days.

  • Vibha says:

    @Nandan, I am hurt and resent the fact that you mistook my enthusiasm for more stories by Mahesh about South Africa as my lack of alertness. Anyways, I hope that this proves my alertness not only while reading the posts but also in keeping pace with the comments on them.
    @Mahesh, We don’t have many stories about South Africa on Ghumakkar. So thanks again for taking us there. I hope you’ll bring us a lot more stories from the country on your next trip.

    • Mahesh Semwal says:

      Nandan was just joking, no one can doubt on your alertness.

      Kal ka koi bharosa nahi fir bhi if I get another chance to visit SA , definitely there will be some more stories on SA

  • Nandan says:

    I wont refute Mahesh’s claim on both.

  • ram dhall says:

    I know I have been inordinately late in leaving a comment.

    I have never been to SA, but after reading your brilliant write up, it seems that I have just returned from Johannesburg.

    Though it was hurting to read about the aparteid days, it’s a historical fact, which would loom large on the humanity for many more years.

    Incidentally, though being a person of urban upbringing, it is difficult to believe that such things could have happened, I am told that a diiferent kind of apartheid (cast based) still exists in some of the Indian villages. The recent honour killings are an example.

  • ashok sharma says:

    I am much late to go thro’ your such a splendid post.The caves look amazing,well maintained,not like heritages in our country ,which we just don’t care for.Since childhood this Apartheid was known to me thro’ books,magazines and newspapers and since then I am totally against this discretion among people. In some way we too are suffering from the same disease in one way or another,be it castes,religions or regions.Some people with vested interest promote this cancer.But being educated and having some brains we must eliminate this apartheid-be it in around us or any where else.

  • Mahesh Semwal says:

    its better to be later than never.

    Thanks for liking the post.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *