"This diamond gentlemen, is the rock upon which the future success of South Africa will be built - Sir Richard Southey,1869"

Kimberley is a prospecting city famous for its quality diamonds, the largest man-made excavation in the world and impressive variety of tourists attractions. It is the capital city of the Northern Cape and surrounded by five of South Africa's big rivers, two of them being the Orange and Vaal Rivers. Surrounding Kimberley are many memorials and sites of some important battles of the Anglo-Boer war, most notably the Siege of Kimberley in 1899 with the famous "Long Cecil" on display, and the battlefield site of Magersfontein where Boer General used trench warfare for the first time. The city boasts other firsts like the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting and the first city in South Africa to switch to an automatic exchange, and it housed the country's first Stock Exchange.

The Big Hole itself is an astonishing sight. Mined to a depth of 215 metres, and with a surface area of about 17 hectares and a boundary of about 1,6 km, it is the largest hand-dug mine in the world. On 14 August 1914 work was stopped at the mine. By that time 22,5 million tons of earth had been dug out, with 2 722 kilograms of diamonds.

The viewing platform suspends you over the Big Hole that offers a thrilling experience. The audio visual theatre that seats up to 65 people play a 17 minute movie on the history of diamond mining and the creation of diamonds in Kimberley. Diamond World, a visitor centre, offers you an underground experience and displays diamonds. Here you can see the actual diamond.

The Kimberley Mine Museum consists of original and carefully reconstructed buildings. This open-air museum has preserved a great deal of the city's past. The first officially recorded diamond discovered in the country, the Eureka, can be seen here. Or you can sift through diamond-bearing gravel, looking for your own treasure. To go back in history, wander past one of Kimberley's oldest houses, a prefabricated construction imported from England in 1877, or the delightful old pub, Digger's Rest, one of the many pubs which flourish in those early days. The tobacconist shop where Perilly produced his famous hand-made cigarettes, Barney Barnato's Boxing Academy, a reconstruction of farmer De Beers' homestead - they are all there.

The vintage Kimberley Tram started operating in the 19th century and over the years has been powered by horses, mules, battery power and steam. The refurbished Kimberley tram today carries you from the Kimberley City Hall to the Open Mine Museum and back.