Flying Adventure: Winelands Namaqua Karoo – Day 12 (FAMelton – FAKM):

Our initial destination for today was the Gariep Dam for refueling and a stay over. But we couldn’t find any accommodation in or around Gariep. Therefore, we decided to head up to Kimberley and visit The Big Hole. Also not a bad choice and we surely are excited.

We are on our way to the airstrip after breakfast and get ready for our relatively short flight to Kimberley.

After take off we fly over Melton Wold as a farewell for the great hospitality and then climb out to set course for Kimberley.

It is another beautiful day out here in the Karoo, and it is cooking hot! It is therefore a bit bumpy as we get to midday and the temperatures are reaching their peak.

Kimberley is also an alternative to Kuruman for a stop over on the way to the Augrabies Falls or Namibia. It is a slightly longer flight, but offers the opportunity to fly along the Orange River all the way to Augrabies. There’s some very stunning scenery along that route right through the Karoo.

We are reaching Kimberley airport by around lunch time. It is a very quiet airport with little to nothing happening. It does therefore take a while until we get ourselves organised with a rental car and can head off to town.

We check in at the Protea Hotel which is situated right next to The Big Hole. Perfect for us.

The Big Hole

After checking in and a light refreshment we head over the The Big Hole.

The Big Hole is the womb of diamonds. It was in this region where the Eureka Diamond was found in 1866, which triggered the New Rush of Kimberley.

The Kimberley Mine produced 14 504 566 carats, or 2722kg of diamonds between 1871 and 1914. 22 500 000 tons of soil were excavated in the process. No surprise then, that it’s a Big Hole!

The diamond rush led to significant industrialisation in and around Kimberley. The town was the first in the Southern hemisphere, and the second in the world, to introduce electric street lights in 1882. It was also home to Africa’s first stock exchange in 1881 and operated the only tram public transport network in the Southern hemisphere. It was operated by horses back in 1887 and was then electrified in 1905.

Some interesting history indeed. And a great way to spend the day before we move further tomorrow.