Kimberley, South Africa Attractions

The Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum is a natural history museum with an interesting collection of rocks and minerals and a section on the early history of South Africa.

The Bultfontein diamond mine on the southeastern outskirts of Kimberley is still working. There are conducted tours of the surface installations, starting from the visitor center

Tours have been discontinued.

There are several jewelers' shops in Jones Street. Visitors who are thinking of buying a diamond should be sure to seek expert advice Some shops not only sell diamonds but put on an informative video show on the cutting and polishing of diamonds, and in some cases give visitors the opportunity of seeing a goldsmith at work.

The Honored Dead Memorial is one of the first things visitors will see when coming into Kimberley from the airport. Designed by Sir Herbert Baker, it commemorates those who died in the siege of Kimberley during the Boer War (1899-1900).

Kimberley's City Hall, a Neo-Classical building of 1899, is now a national monument. In addition to municipal offices it also houses a tourist information bureau. In front of the City Hall are reproductions of the first electric street lights in South Africa, installed in Kimberley in 1882.

An old tramcar of 1913, restored, carries visitors between the city center (City Hall) and the Big Hole.

The first flying school in South Africa was established at Kimberley in 1913, and the Pioneers of Aviation Museum is dedicated to these early aviators. The collection includes reproductions of the first aircraft hangar and a biplane used for the training of pilots.

After leaving the Mine Museum it is worth paying a visit to the oldest public house in Kimberley, the Star of the West This was the favorite rendezvous of the diamond prospectors from the early 1870s. The interior has been restored and now looks as it did in the early days of the diamond rush. Its proudest memento is a stool said to have been made specially for Cecil Rhodes.

The battlefield of Magersfontein, scene of a British defeat during "Black Week" in the Boer War, lies 30km/19mi south of Kimberley. There is an observation point from which there are good views of the battlefield and the trenches. There is a small museum with a collection of weapons and uniforms.

28km/17mi northwest of Kimberley, on the banks of the Vaal River, is Riverton, a municipal pleasure resort with accommodation for visitors in various categories and a wide range of sports facilities. There is boating on a 25km/15mi long stretch of the river and excellent fishing.