Visiting Sterkfontein Caves with kids

What children tend to enjoy

The pitch to a child is simple. You put on a helmet, you go underground, and people found some of the most famous fossils in the world down here. The story of Little Foot has a good shape: four small foot bones sat in a box for years until a scientist spotted them in 1994, and the rest of the skeleton turned up in the cave three years later. Wits also asks you to picture the animals that once used these chambers, including giant baboons, long-legged hyenas and sabre-tooth cats.

Is the cave right for your child?

Think about the route, not the age. Wits describes stairs and narrow passages, and places where you crouch to get through. It can be wet and slippery. Children should be supervised at all times, and once the group is underground, turning back is not simple. Wits advises against the tour for anyone with claustrophobia, acute asthma or mobility issues. A child who is happy on a long flight of stairs and not bothered by the dark will probably love it.

What to bring

Closed-toe, non-slip shoes matter most. Avoid dresses and loose clothes, because of the stairs and tight spots. A light layer is enough, since the cave holds at about 20°C, and helmets are required. Bring water or buy a bottle at the shop before you go down. Wits asks visitors to leave handbags and other luggage behind, so pack a small bag you can leave in the car.

• Closed-toe, non-slip shoes for everyone
• A light top layer
• Water
• Nothing that needs carrying underground

Babies and toddlers

Wits publishes no rule on pushchairs or baby carriers. It does say the caves are not wheelchair friendly, which makes a pushchair impractical underground, and a carrier is awkward where adults are already stooping. The easy plan is to split up. One adult stays above ground with the youngest and the others take the tour. If you need a firm answer before you travel, ask the caves through the contact details on their website.

The above-ground half

This half stands on its own. In the laboratory, children can watch researchers cleaning real fossils, and the exhibition has one of only two full casts of Little Foot. There are walkways over the excavation and a Timeline Walk across the grassland. The museum, laboratory and Timeline Walk are accessible by wheelchair, and that makes them easy with a pushchair too. The Curious Café on site does quick food.

Ages and tickets

Wits sells a child ticket for ages 6 to 18, and children under 6 go in free, up to two per adult. Those bands are for pricing, not a rule about who can manage the walk. Prices are for the caves to state, on their own website. If you book a guided tour with pickup instead, its age and price terms come from the tour itself, so read them when you choose a date.

School groups

Wits runs a school visits programme with guided tours pitched to the age of the group, handling of replica fossils and mock excavations. It covers history, natural science, geography, life science, and arts and culture. Schools book through the caves directly, using the school visits page on the caves' website.