The De Hoop Collection, a premier member of Cape Country Routes, situated in the heart of the De Hoop Nature and Marine Reserve in the Western Cape offers a range of accommodation and outdoor experiences, like no other – one of the best spots for land-based whale watching in South Africa, a 19 km Ramsar-listed vlei, rare indigenous plants, diverse animal and bird life and the ‘Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour’ exhibition.
Opened in January 2024, the exhibition showcases the rich archaeological heritage of the Southern Cape coastline and features some of the findings made by SapienCE scientists, Professor Christopher Henshilwood, Professor Sarah Wurz and Dr Karen Van Niekerk and their large palaeoscience team.
A team of archaeologists together with Dr Marzena Cendrowska, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bergen SFF Centre for Early Sapiens (SapienCE), Dr Asia Alsgaard, a SEAS Programme (Shaping European Research Leaders for Marine Sustainability)* also a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bergen SFF Centre for Early Sapiens (SapienCE), Dr Antoine Muller, a post-doctoral fellow also at the University of Bergen and the vice-chair of Archeolodzy.org Foundation in Poland, Dr Maciej Ehlert, will be at De Hoop on Saturday 7 March 2026 for a day with a difference.
A day where weekend guests and day visitors can escape the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary!
A guided tour of the exhibition, short popular lectures by the SapienCE scientists, throughout-the-day activities that include several outdoor, ‘hands-on’ archaeological actions where guests will either get to handle artifacts or participate in or observe experiments, plus all the familiar de Hoop activities of biking, tennis and eco-boat cruises on the vlei (pre-booking required), walks through the coastal fynbos, guided marine walks at Koppie Alleen -where rock pools teem with anemones, mussels and colourful starfish and up close encounters with herds of bontebok, antelope and other diverse wildlife.
The Itinerary – Saturday 7 March
10h00-17h00: Fire experiments –using heat to prepare materials (ochre, ostrich eggshell, stone etc) used in the production of tools – Marzena Cendrowska & Maciej Ehlert (Boma)
10h00-17h00: Bare Bones – learn about identifying animals from their bones – Asia Alsgaard & Alexandra Pearson (Boma)
10h00-17h00: Stone Tools – try your hand in making stone tools the prehistoric way – Maciej Ehlert & Antoine Muller (Boma)
10h00-17h00: Making tools and ornaments the prehistoric way – learn to recognise different types of use/wear using a microscope and what it can tell us about the past – Marzena Cendrowska
10h00-17h00: Exploring the semi-arid Klein Karoo landscape – learn how it shaped past human mobility – Kurt Wogau
12h00-13h00: a guided tour of the “Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour” – “Mother Africa – Welcome Home”exhibition. Meet the scientists and ask them questions – various scientists (Exhibition)
14h30-15h00: Lecture: “Food for the braai: Life along the coast during the Later Stone Age” from shellfish to tortoises, the inhabitants of Klipdrift Cave had a variety of animals to cook on the fire. This talk will discuss how their preferences changed as they adapted to changing sea levels and coastlines between 11 000 and 17 000 years ago – Asia Alsgaard (Origins Room)
17h00: Lecture by Prof Christopher Henshilwood (Origins Room)
18h00: Boma Dinner (R325 for non-inclusive guests) (Vlei Deck)
Digging De Hoop 2026 Weekend Package
Dates: Friday 6 March – Saturday 7 March 2026
Price: Guests can book and pay to stay -non-inclusive guests can join the Boma Dinner on Saturday night (R325 per person)
Terms and conditions apply. Booking is essential. To make your reservation email Samantha res@dehoopcollection.co.za