South African Airways

The biggest attraction of Kimberley is the Big Hole, the largest man-made excavation in the world hewn during the diamond rush of 1871. Now it’s the centrepiece of the diamond museum and a lovely recreated mining town where excellent guides bring history to life. After a video and a tour of the diamond displays you can stroll into preserved saloons and shops lining the dusty streets.

You’ll see thousands of beautiful pink flamingoes when you visit or drive past Kamfers Dam, an important wetland north of the city. There are anything from 39 000 to 59 000 birds, but they never stand still long enough to be counted.

On the outskirts of Kimberley is Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre. There are more than 200 rock paintings spread over a small hill. A visitor centre has displays, a craft shop and an introductory film, then a guide takes you up a walkway over the hill and explains the ancient drawings to you.

The rich mining history gives Kimberley a lot of spooky stories and there are ghost tours available. Try a walking tour of the haunted city centre, or visit Magersfontein battlefield at night, where many visitors claim to have heard a phantom Scottish piper and seen the flickering ghostly lanterns of the stretcher-bearers. Kimberley has 158 supposedly haunted buildings. In the historic Africana Library, the restless spirit of the first librarian roams. He drank arsenic after he was found doctoring the accounts.

This gallery in the Civic Centre was opened in 1952 and has a fine collection of 16th and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, British and French paintings, antique furniture and other objects d’art. It is now focusing more on South African works of art. Guided tours are arranged on request.