For a luxury stay in the Cradle region, look no further than the Cradle Boutique Hotel where each of the high-end timber and thatch-roofed cottages has a private viewing deck elevated above the 7,000 hectares of private nature reserve spilling out below. There are two luxurious pools on site; the natural filtration lounge pool with a cascading rock waterfall and a second sun-drenched swimming pool framed by private cabanas. The hotel also offers guests the chance to tick off an elusive bucket list item – joining a world-renowned paleo-anthropologist on a visit to a major fossil exploration site in the nearby Sterkfontein Caves area.