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Kimberley is the capital of the Northern Cape and is home to the ‘Big Hole’. The ‘Big Hole’ is a hole made for diamond mining that is 170 000m² and 240m deep. The ‘Big Hole’ yielded 3 tons of diamonds and is the largest hand-dug excavation in the world.
Diamonds were first found in the area in 1866 when a gentleman named Erasmus Jacobs found a small white ‘pebble’ on the banks of the Orange River. The pebble turned out to be a 21.25 carat diamond.
Today, Kimberley is a modern city with broad, tree-lined streets, attractive parks and gardens, comfortable hotels and busy shopping centres. Visitors can see the mine and explore the Kimberley Mine Museum, situated next to the Big hole. The museum houses a rich collection of articles and information from the early days of the city. You can even experience the past by sifting through gravel to find your own diamond.
The Free State lies between the Vaal River in the north and the Orange River in the south. This province lies central on the interior plateau of South Africa and is characterized by its grass plains and dolerite hills. On the south eastern border are the mountains of Lesotho. The eastern highlands of the Free State is well known for its beautiful sandstone formations in yellow, brown, orange and pink. Some of South Africa’s most valued San rock paintings are found in the Free State.Bloemfontein is the capital of the Free State. It also houses the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. Other urban centres are Bethlehem, Harrismith, Kroonstad, Parys, Phuthaditjhaba and Sasolburg. The population of 2, 8 million mainly speaks Sesotho, Afrikaans and IsiXhosa.The Free State is the fifth largest gold producing region in the world. Silver, uranium, coal, diamonds and bentonite are also mined. Maize, wheat, soya, sorghum, sunflowers, cherries, asparagus and potatoes are produced in the Free State, while the sweet grasslands sustain more than 15 million sheep. Petroleum is manufactured from bituminous coal at Sasolburg. A wide variety of industries have developed around the production of chemicals from coal.The Free State is in the summer rainfall region of South Africa. Bloemfontein receives 559 mm rain annually. The summers are temperate to warm, and the winters are dry and sunny, but the winter nights are cold.
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