A day of big holes

I felt quite emotional saying farewell to Red Sands and the staff there. When you travel alone you’re far more aware of people’s small kindnesses and I felt very looked after there.

I was on the road by 7am on another glorious day of blue skies. My first stop was a place called the Wonderwerk Cave ( translated as Miracle Cave). They had kindly agreed to show me around an hour before their usual opening as I had a five hour drive ahead.

The cave is on a farm off The Road of Death that I mentioned yesterday- the main road to Kimberley. As I drove along its almost completely deserted stretches i rethought my plans to do the big loop via Vryburg. Clearly my experience on Friday must have been one of bad timing. 200km vs 500km now that I wasn’t battling mining trucks was a no brainer. Resolved and now much more relaxed with no time pressure, I swung into Wonderwerk and was met by two delightful young people, Chante and Gert Smith. They are recent owners/ caretakers of the cave property (it’s a national heritage site) and their family are owners of the game farm next door. Everything gleamed with newness- the toilet block, cafe and little museum. Gert showed me around. The cave is vast, and as a nice little nod to the theme of my trip, was discovered (re-discovered really, but by a white man) in the mid 1800’s as he was traveling up to the Moffat Mission. He noted the giant stalactite at its entrance but didn’t realize the full extent of its depth.

Since then it’s become a major archaeological site. Evidence for human habitation 2 million years ago, the earliest evidence of a fire used inside a home - 1 million years and 1000 year old San wall art make it a very precious place. Up until now it’s been managed by the government and had deteriorated. The Smit family are collaborating with a museum in Kimberley to resurrect it. Good on them! Go see it if you’re in those parts.

I then had a totally stress free drive to Kimberley on the Road of Not Death This Time. I have a very pathetic little car - a Hyundai Exter. Never get one! Totally gutless. I can literally see the petrol gauge descending whenever I put my foot down to pass something.

The bonus of the change of plan is I suddenly had time in Kimberley. It’s a really nice place, and for some reason I didnt expect it. It’s a stinking hot day so I swung into a shopping centre for a cool down, coffee and I might have done a bit of shopping… I then went off to The Big Hole. I will confess I went with a sense that it was a ‘should’ rather than ‘want’ motivation, but gee it was a fascinating place.

You probably know that Kimberley is a major diamond mining place. What I did not know is that the mine is actually an old volcano, and volcanoes are the likely source of most diamonds. Kimberley is named after the rock type responsible for shifting diamonds to the surface during volcanic activity- Kimberlite.

The Big Hole started with a diamond rush and thousands of prospectors . There were 50 000 men digging there at one time under appalling conditions. Over time the entrepreneurs bought titles up and combined resources - we’re talking Cecil Rhodes in particular. That’s how he made his fortune. The Oppenheimer family also are part of the story and the combined players created De Beers. The hole itself is the biggest hand dug one in the world - 240m but there are also underground shafts that go down 1000m. It was all fascinating with an excellent museum as well as a terrifying platform from which to look down on the hole (now full of water). Pics attached. I enjoyed the display of diamonds as well. I had no idea they came in so many colors- including pink, yellow and green. Glad I went. Still don’t like Rhodes. Still feel guilty about my diamond rings.

I’m now perched waiting for my flight to Johannesburg and the next phase of my journey when I meet the rest of my family to do some game viewing. (Not all the rest, sorry Max and Georgia). I had a bit of a battle with Avis about a dent on my car’s petrol cap but luckily I’d taken photos on the day I hired it and could prove it was already there. Grant will be proud of me :)

I’m not sure if I’ll blog on the game farm part of the trip as I don’t know if it’s interesting for you. Please let me know :)

In the meantime thank you for your company. It’s been special.Læs mere