We made it to Kimberley, the capital of the Northern Cape. This place has been defined by its diamond mining past, and indeed the De Beers company came to hold a monopoly over the global diamond market thanks in part to its work here. Just think that Kimberley’s largest mine, “The Big Hole”, was hand-dug between 1871 and 1914, yielding more than 3,000 kg of diamonds! It’s over 460 meters wide and 240 meters deep. Another curious fact we learned: in 1882, Kimberley became the first city in the southern hemisphere and second city in the world to install electric street lights.
