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Free State and Kimberley

This central province, bounded in the south by the mighty Orange river and in the east by the mighty Maluti mountains, is the nations granary and treasure house. Gold, mealies (maize), wheat and sheep are the main sources of wealth in this region. The capitol of the free state - Bloemfontein (Flower Spring) - is also the judicial capitol of the republic, where the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the country. The expansive countryside of the Free State has endless flatness, which is only occasionally broken by koppies (hills), fields of crop and mine towers.

When diamonds were found in the walls of a farmhouse in Kimberley in 1869, the discovery sparked an immense diamond rush into the area. Diggers were so eager to uncover this treasure of the earth that a small hill was quickly demolished and the enormous "Big Hole" was mined by whatever primitive methods was available. Diggers made an open hole of more that 800m deep, and the lowest part of the overall mine goes down to 1100m deep. In the wild dash to find diamonds, more than 30000 workers from all over the world joined in and there are plenty a tale of millionaires made over night, but also tales of misfortune as is reflected in the old buildings, ballrooms, pubs and shops which has been preserved in the Kimberley mine museum. These days diamond mining has gone hi-tech and visitors will be fascinated at the modern methods used to extract these treasured stones.