Driving in Kimberley, South Africa
- Posted by: Editor
- On: 09/10/2007 09:34:38
- In: South Africa Car Hire
Located in the Northern Cape Province, Kimberley is a major city in the South African Karoo. It's often referred to as the Diamond City. This is because diamond mining was a very important part of the city's past. In addition to being of interest to those curious in the historical nature of the area, Kimberley is also an excellent base from which to explore the surrounding countryside.
Kimberley was the site of a large diamond rush starting back in the 1870's. An 80 carat diamond had been found on the slopes of Colesberg Kopje and by intensive mining (in the space of a very short time), the hill disappeared and was replaced with what became known as The Big Hole. Kimberley swiftly became the biggest city in the region and now serves as the capital of the Northern Cape Province.
What to see in the Kimberley area?
Kimberley has much to offer the curious tourist; the area around the city is covered with huge holes that were used to delve into the earth looking for diamonds. The Big Hole mine is 170,000 m˛, 215 metres deep and it produced over 3 tons of diamonds alone! Near the Big Hole you'll find the Diamond Museum which shows you what the town looked like in the early days.
Also worth checking out is the bird sanctuary at Kamfersdam, with its thousands of flamingos. The Karoo itself is something worth visiting as it's a unique landscape and home to many wild animals. Less than 200km to the east you'll find Bloemfontein, the judicial capital of South Africa.
No trip to South Africa would be complete without a visit to a nature or game reserve and in this part of South Africa you have a number of choices. You could head north past Upington and the Kalahari Desert to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the border with Botswana. This is quite a trip so if you want something a bit closer you could try Vaalbos National Park which has many of the desert dwelling animals. And across the border with the Free State Province you can visit the Sandveld Nature Reserve which hosts about 295 species of bird.
Why not hire a car?
Kimberley Airport serves a number of domestic flights to major cities in South Africa such as Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
The city is on the N12 which links you to Johannesburg in the north and to Beaufort West in the south.
The public transport network is fairly poor, so hiring a car is more or less essential if you want to explore the full beauty of Kimberley.
If you've any questions about car rental in Kimberley or, indeed, have any travel tips you'd like to share, just leave a comment in the box below.
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