Big Hole of Kimberley

Diamonds were found on this hill in 1871 and within months thousands of diggers were working claims a few metres square, each man digging down independently, with a spiderweb of ropes and buckets running out to the rim. They dug to about 240 metres before the workings became unmanageable and companies consolidated - a process that ended with Cecil Rhodes and De Beers controlling the field. The open pit measures roughly 460 metres across and the surface hole is about 214 metres deep, part-filled with water now. It is often called the largest hand-dug excavation in the world, a claim that is repeated more confidently than it is documented, but the scale is undeniable. A viewing platform cantilevers over the edge, and the museum complex includes an underground simulation, a reconstructed old town of period buildings, and a vault of uncut and cut stones.

What you actually see

• The hand-dug pit - about 460 metres across, dug with picks, buckets and ropes.
• The cantilevered platform - a walkway out over the rim of the hole.
• The reconstructed town - period buildings assembled as a mining-era street.
• The diamond vault - uncut and cut stones from the field on display.

When to go

April to September. Half a day. Summer heat in Kimberley is severe.

Honest expectations

The reconstructed village is assembled rather than original in place. The "largest hand-dug hole" claim is looser than the signage suggests. Summer temperatures exceed forty degrees. Kimberley itself is a working city with ordinary safety considerations.

Nearby

Kimberley's other mine headgear sites are in the city; Mokala park is south.