Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre

15/10/2026

There’s something special about a family story finding its way to the next generation...

Here, "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘭 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥" is being read in French to Sidney Rubidge's great-great-grandchildren - a lovely reminder that the stories we share at Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre are part of family histories too.

𝗪𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗼, 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆.

14/10/2026

We're looking forward to welcoming visitors attending the 𝟮𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘂𝗺 to Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre this November!

Led by Prof Bruce Rubidge, the excursion will explore our fascinating fossil history before heading into Camdeboo National Park to discover the geological story behind the Valley of Desolation.

𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐎 𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 & 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
𝘈 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴

Few Heritage Symposium excursions can take you from 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐧-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥'𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐚 in a single afternoon.

This one can.

Led by 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞, the excursion begins at 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐨 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 in Graaff-Reinet, home to the internationally important Rubidge fossil collection.

Its origins lie in 1934, when young Peggy Rubidge asked her father Sidney: “𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝?”

Their resulting family outing led to the discovery of a remarkable fossil skull. Palaeontologist 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 visited the following year and identified it as the holotype of 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘪. The encounter began an extraordinary scientific partnership and a collection that now contains more than 𝟖𝟓𝟎 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏𝟎𝟕 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬.

Today Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre combines palaeontological research, exhibitions, palaeo-tourism and outreach and is linked to the University of the Witwatersrand.

Then we travel into 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 and climb towards the 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, declared a National Monument in 1939.

𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦.

The rocks of the Karoo preserve processes extending hundreds of millions of years into Earth's past, while ancient dolerite intrusions and prolonged erosion created the distinctive ridges, cliffs and flat-topped Karoo mountains we recognise today.

From prehistoric predators to towering dolerite columns, this is 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.

📍 𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐀 𝐒𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐮𝐦
📍 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐚𝐟𝐟-𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭 - 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐤𝐰𝐞, 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐞, 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚
📅 𝟏𝟑 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

13/10/2026

There's some exciting fieldwork happening down in Gqeberha at the moment, where two familiar faces from Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre are out searching for traces of creatures that roamed this part of the world millions of years ago!

Our palaeontologist, 𝗗𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, and chief preparator, 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀, are currently exploring the 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗸𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, prospecting for new dinosaur and marine reptile fossils.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

And, of course, that's part of what makes palaeontology so interesting - 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.

We're looking forward to hearing what Viktor and Justin uncover during their time in the field and will be sharing updates as their work progresses.

12/10/2026

There’s always something lovely to discover in the little gift shop at Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre!

𝗧𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀, from beautiful photographs and fascinating books to little keepsakes that capture something of the Karoo and its remarkable natural history.

Whether you’re looking for a thoughtful gift, a souvenir of your visit, or simply fancy a browse, it’s well worth taking a few minutes to look around.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲? We’d love to see you!

05/10/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻.

With the recent heavy rains sending rivers and streams flowing across our landscape, we’re reminded that the Karoo is anything but still.

𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁 - cutting through rock, carrying sediment and slowly revealing layers that hold the story of environments that existed here millions of years ago.

At Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre, you can step into that story and discover how geology, ancient landscapes and fossils come together to explain the Karoo we know today.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘁.

📷 Photo: Africa Memories Travel

01/10/2026

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘆𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 - all teeth, size and drama - but look a little closer and there’s another story unfolding.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘰’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

At Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre, these ancient encounters offer a glimpse into a time long before humans, when survival in the Karoo meant being quick, well-defended… 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶!

📷 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 taken by John Compton during a recent visit to the Centre.

30/09/2026

There is something rather wonderful about seeing a fossil up close and remembering that 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻. This cynodont fossil, part of the collection at Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre, offers a small window into the Karoo’s extraordinary prehistoric past.

𝘗𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 - 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵...

28/09/2026

Some of the best holiday adventures are 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 right on our doorstep.

This school holiday, bring the kids along to Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre and let them get up close to the fascinating creatures and stories of the ’s ancient past.

There’s always something tucked away to spot, discover and wonder about - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!

📷 Photo by Altus Beeston.

25/09/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 - the perfect time to step back in time!

If you’re spending some time in Graaff-Reinet, pop into Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre and discover the extraordinary creatures that roamed the Karoo millions of years ago.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 🌿

📷 Photos by Dan Cabela.

22/09/2026

Among the displays at Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre are handwritten letters and notes that bring another layer to the story of the ’s fossil heritage.

They offer a fascinating glimpse into the observations, ideas and discoveries of those who helped shape our understanding of this ancient landscape.

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 - carefully recording what they saw, sketching what they found and adding, page by page, to a story that began millions of years ago.