No metrically correct 3D documentation exists for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara, once one of the most important African trading centres in the Indian Ocean region. Modern technology makes it possible to create such documentation and develop an integrated information system for the site. This paper describes an ongoing research project on the documentation of two of Kilwa's remaining structures, the fortress, known as Gereza, and the Great Mosque on Kilwa Kisiwani. The project forms part of the development of a methodology for the digital recording of African heritage sites and the design of a database as part of an integrated information system for African heritage sites. The Kilwa documentation is a pilot- and case study within this larger framework. It focuses on the development of appropriate methods, procedures and techniques, recognizing the technical, economical and physical limitations of documentation work in an African environment. Specifically, the project looks at the smooth transfer of photogrammetrically acquired point clouds into CAD programmes. The photogrammetry-to-CAD transfer is addressed through the development of a data structure, which is employed to systematically code photogrammetrically acquired points on features of interest. An interpreter is then used to translate the labels of the feature points and their coordinates into an AutoLisp feature file, which in turn can be understood by the CAD system and plotted. The resulting 3D wireframe model forms a basis for the creation of surface and/or solid models that are subsequently draped with real texture for realistic representation of the site. The paper also reports on first experiences with a laser scanner and attempts a comparison of laser scanning and close-range photogrammetry.