Kimberley
Visitors travelling by road between Johannesburg and Cape Town may wish to visit the city of Kimberley, capital of the Northern Cape, which was once the scene of a diamond rush in the 1870s.
This event played a pivotal role in the history of South Africa, attracting, among others, controversial British colonialist and mining magnate Cecil John Rhodes, who was to go on to become prime minister of the Cape Colony.
A major attraction in Kimberley today is the Big Hole, the largest hand-dug excavation in the world. Here your clients can go on a guided tour that includes a visit to a diamond vault and a simulated trip down a mine, before taking a closer look at the hole from a special viewing platform.
Afterwards, they can stroll around the ‘old town’, a precinct of shops and restaurants in replica buildings typical of a 19th-century mining town.
Another site of interest in Kimberley is the Wildebees Kuil Rock Art Centre, where rock engravings can be seen. Of interest to history enthusiasts are the many South African War (also known as the Anglo-Boer War) battlefields in the vicinity as well as the well-appointed McGregor Museum.
