KIMBERLEY, South Africa

14/15 JULY 2011

KIMBERLEY, South Africa

An early start with a long drive straight through to Kimberley, 1000+ km,  arriving not too long after 6pm.

Watch for those springboks

With poor maps we managed to find the township, Galeshewe , the oldest such township in South Africa. Then the navigational gods smiled upon us and we found Ekhaya a guesthouse, an initiative of the township.

NO way to overtake THIS

Our arrival was met with no knowledge of my booking, but I did have David’s name who I had spoken with. This lent in our favour and a room was found for us. Apparently there is some sort of sporting events on in town, filling all accommodations. I didn’t fancy having to try elsewhere, that’s for sure. Our room showed a fair bit of wear and tear (or is that lack of general maintenance?) but was comfy and warm with a full sized bath for good measure!

Galeshewe was one of three township uprisings in South Africa, others being (Soweto in Jo’burg and Cato Manor in Durban). Their Mayibuye Memorial is a tribute to the deaths resulting from it in 1952.

Kimberley is Northern Cape’s only city, born out of a diamond rush in the early 1870s. It was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting! Can’t get more notable than that!! Its history and development relied on .

Visited the Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre within land owned by the !Xun and Khwe San people, granted to them in 1996 The site is home to over 400 rock engravings  spread over a small sacred hill, with efforts being made to conserve them. Unfortunately the local kids roasting a caught bird recently set fire to the hill and a newly constructed boardwalk was destroyed so the community is still considering what to do about this. Thankfully the rock art was left unscathed.  Our guide was very informative and we walked ‘back in time’ to learn much of the sad displaced history of the Khoe-San people.

Toured the Big Hole, dug by hand, pick and shovel in the search for diamonds. It measures 215m deep, a perimeter of 1.6km, a surface area of 17 hectares and yielded 2722 kg of diamonds. WOW With a great view from a 90m cantilever over the hole as part of The Diamonds and Destiny visitor Centre.  Mining ceased here in 1914. We learnt about the three Cs of diamonds:  Clarity, Cut and Carat in the diamond Vault where there are over 3,500 diamonds on display. Apparently a carat is the weight of cocoa bean!!! Who knew? The tour heads underground (5m) to experience a simulated explosion. Hmmm 

And the hole is adjacent to an ‘Old Town’ which was pleasant to wander about in glorious sunshine.

Half Way House Drive in Pub, steeped in tradition and sporting memorabilia. An original ‘park and drink’ bar, legend tells that Rhodes was accustomed to taking his drink astride his horse rather than dismounting. The pub was granted a licence in 1880 to serve passing trade in and on their vehicles – you can still pull up and hoot your horn to be served a drink in your car!!

We checked out De Beers Mining viewing platform Qw and Head Office, which was the original headquarters of Barney Barnato’s Kimberley Central Diamond Mining Company.

De Beers hole in the ground

Visited Kamfers Dam, a perennial wetland,  to see thousands of flamingos. 

Flamingos

 

This dam supports the largest permanent population of lesser flamingos in Southern Africa, sometimes numbering in excess of 35,000! In 2006, a mining company constructed islands off the dams northern shoreline, using over 26,000 tons of material to create a safe breeding environment for the nests. Apparently a flying success!

Star of the West old time pub, the oldest operating pub in Kimberley, was built on 5.4m of solid rock foundations in 1870 and served the mines workers. The original bar and shelving are still in use today.

FACT: An update on Swaziland’s appeal for a loan – they have been refused by the IMF and other lenders to whom they have appealed. Now they are asking Pretoria for help and aid Swazi’s cash strapped government. Leading Swazi dissidents (People’s United Democratic Movement – PUDEMO) are urging South Africa not to bail them out. King Mswati III has at least a dozen wives, an estimated $200m fortune and runs the landlocked nation of 1.4 million as a personal fiefdom, is Africa’s last absolute monarch. 

Not the same as a lamb chop really

You have been warned