Diamonds are forever…

Camping Trips, Road Trips, South Africa, Travel

Kimberley Big Hole Diamond Mine

Yeah so they say!

Once we got Chico back on the road we drove out of Upington and just as sun was setting we found a beautiful country lodge in a wee small town called Griquatown that offered campers space on their lovely lawns. We had such a nice welcome from the owners who offered us dinner from their braai, and after hot showers we had one of the best night’s sleeps in a while.

From Griquatown it was a couple of hours to Kimberley where we were planning on learning a bit more about the history of South Africa – the diamond diggings, Cecil Rhodes and the Anglo-Boer war, etc. But when we camped up and headed for the museum we were so disappointed to find it was closed for renovations. All we could do was have a look at the ‘big hole‘ – a massive hand dug chasm by the diamond miners of old. So the next day we planned on going underground on a diamond tour, but when we arrived at the mine were told they no longer conducted the tours.

Diamond Mine Kimberley



By this stage we were a bit despondent with Kimberley, with the things we wanted to do being impossible, combined with the fact that the campground was infested with ants and Shaz meeting a couple of scorpions during a late night toilet visit, we decided there was no point hanging around. Also since buying any diamonds on a volunteers allowance was out of the question we couldn’t see the point of staying. So off we went to De Aar, the distance paragliding capital of SA.


About Us

David and Sharon Schindler with view of LA behind them

Hi, we're Sharon & Dave an active and adventurous Irish & English couple who've been travelling together for more than 20 years. These posts are our travel stories and personal journeys. Follow our adventures to see where we've been and where we're going next!

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