BLAST Vredefort Dome Tours

Asteroid impacts have been responsible for several of the great extinctions of life on our planet. Our tours tell the fascinating story of planetary impacts and take you to sites where you can see for yourself the destructive power of the asteroids, the loose cannons of the solar system.The Vredefort Dome marks the centre of the oldest and largest visible impact crater, which happened 2 billion years ago. It did not cause a great extinction, but if such an impact happened again it would probably wipe out most life on Earth. Yet, asteroids could help to enrich humanity by supplying water and precious minerals - and we could use them as transit vehicles to travel into deep space. The Vredefort blast buried the gold rich Witwatersrand rocks deep beneath the surface, allowing for its rediscovery in human times. Today, South African gold mining technologies - in the hot, deep earth - are far advanced, suggesting that the country could be at the forefront of asteroid mining. We offer various formats of tours from driving to hiking, rafting through the Dome, mountain biking the trails, and simply watching our videos and getting the map briefing before driving yourself to sites of interest. We also do Battlefield tours of this "crucible of conflict" which lies at the heart of South Africa and, because of the presence of gold and diamonds, has created the wealth as well as the warfare that marks this country's history. Contact us for a quote. Tell us what interests you and what kind of trail you wish to do. There are discounts for families, groups, schools and universities. Prof Graeme Addison or his wife Karen are both qualified and registered tour guides.