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Where is it?
The West Coast Fossil Park, which is a satellite of Iziko Museums of Cape Town, is situated on the R45 close to the Langebaanweg Air force Base near Vredenburg-Saldana, about 120 km north of Cape Town. It can be reached either from the West Coast road (R27), turning right opposite the road to Langebaan, or along the R45 to Vredenburg, leaving the N7 just north of Malmesbury. Telephone: (022) 766-1606 for details or bookings.
What is there to see?
The highlight of the West Coast Fossil Park is a spectacular 'live' exhibit of an on-going excavation of Early Pliocene (5 million years ago) fossils. Visitors can enjoy a background lecture, the on-site fossil experience and learn about ancient environments, the animal life and the climatic changes that occurred in this region. Every day at 11:30, guided tours take one back to a time when the region was inhabited by many animals, which have since become extinct. There is also a museum-type exhibit of some of the fossils recovered from earlier excavations at the site.
Interesting facts
Fossils were first discovered in the late 1950s during phosphate mining at the Chemfos Mine at Langebaanweg. This deposit is of global importance and, along with a handful of other localities elsewhere, has yielded one of the most diverse assemblages of 5 million year old fossils in the world. Among many intriguing extinct animals, such as giant, pigs, sabre-toothed cats and short-necked giraffes, there is a massive bear that has become the mascot of the park.
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