The BIG Hole, Kimberley

Kimberley, The City that Sparkles. The city that sleeps at 10 pm, but sparkles none the less. More than a hundred and twenty years ago, De Beers started a mine in Kimberly now known as the Big Hole. It's the largest man made excavation in the world. It's believed that he managed to extract more than 2000 kilograms of diamonds till date. Thats like 1,00,00,000 carats. I was lucky enough to stay in a guest house known as The Victorian Guest Lodge. A small, charming place run by a local family. Fantastic hospitalty with luxurious rooms, located very close to the Big Hole. You should look it up if you plan to ever visit Kimberley. Kimberley is a small town, at most 10 kms in diametre. Quite and peaceful. A weekend getaway. Stay there more than 2 days and be prepared to get bored. Anyway the two places I happened to visit were The Big Hole and Kamfers Dam. I saw the excavation and was quite amused by its size. To be frank I thought it would be bigger than it is. Apparently, many slaves died when land caved in on them. Hundreds killed for the greed of one man. And yet we treat diamonds as a woman's best friend. Wake up guys. the're just stones at the end of the day. Kamfers dam was the second place I visited during my short stay in Kimberley. The only official breeding place for flimingoes in the world. Unfortunately for us and fortunately for the flamingoes, this is not a tourist spot. There is no access to the damn itself. If you wish to see these birds, you need to climb over a fence, cross a railway track and even then, the view aint good enough. Ah well. I did get to see them eventually. I desperately need a 600 mm lens.

Flamingoes at Kamfers Dam
A sea of birds

Kamfers Dam

The big hole ramp, leading to the viewing point.

Ramp again

The Big Hole